Myocarditis rare but possible following mRNA COVID vaccine

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-01-26 03:00

International

Myocarditis - inflammation of the heart muscle - is a rare but serious adverse event that can occur after receiving an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, according to international researchers who looked at national reporting rates in the US. The team reviewed reports to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) between December 2020 and August 2021, which described 1,626 myocarditis cases within seven days after vaccination, which was slightly higher than the expected rate, particularly in adolescent and young men. The researchers acknowledge this higher risk, but say it must be balanced against the benefits of vaccination.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA

Funder: This work was supported by contracts 200-2012-53709 (Boston Medical Center), 200-2012-53661 (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center), 200-2012-53663 (Duke University), and 200-2012-50430 (Vanderbilt University Medical Center) with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Project.

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