CDC Finds That The Rate Of Heart Inflammation Is Higher In The Youth After Vaccination
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : June 29, 2021323 cases of heart inflammation have been observed in individuals between the ages of 12-29 years who received doses of the Pfizer/BioNtech or Moderna vaccine, according to the data of the federal officials.
Such instances of heart inflammation were higher among the individuals who had received the shots compared to the ones who did not receive any vaccination.
CDC Finds That The Rate Of Heart Inflammation Is Higher In The Youth After Vaccination
However, no deaths were recorded among those 323 individuals. The data was obtained from the submissions of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Risks of side effects mitigated by vaccine benefits:
The fact that no deaths were observed among the 323 individuals who reported side effects after the vaccination proves that the benefits associated with getting the shots outweigh the risks of heart inflammation or any other side effects.
A statement co-signed by the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, and 15 medical, provider, and public health organizations implies that the side effects of heart inflammation are an extremely rare condition and only a very small fraction of people are going to experience it.
This condition of heart inflammation is called myocarditis characterized by the swelling of the cardiac muscle and can also include pericarditis, defined by the inflammation of the outer muscle lining of the heart.
Both conditions can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations.
What the recorded side effects imply:
The observation that the cases of myocarditis have slightly increased among the younger people shows that the vaccine side effect surveillance system is working efficiently, states Dr. Grace Lee, a member of the ACIP and also a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University Medical School.
Lee further adds that surveillance is ongoing across the US to monitor any side effects that might emerge after the vaccination.
There were previous reports of higher instances of myocarditis among the youth, for which the CDC had placed all the data with the panel.
How the two vaccine fare with the heart condition:
The two vaccines out of the three presently authorized for use in the US, Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna, are double-dose vaccines, whereas the J&J vaccine is a single-dose vaccine.
The instances of myocarditis are not much reported in individuals who have received the single dose J&J vaccine; compared to the other two double dose ones. It is important to note that the J&J vaccine is prepared using a separate formula.
According to Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, a member of the covid-19 vaccine team of CDC, the side effects arising from the double-dose Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna vaccines are very mild and, in most cases, resolve on their own.
The majority of the side effects were observed among men compared to women and they emerged within the first week of receiving the second dose of the vaccine.
Out of the 323 confirmed cases of myocarditis, hospitalization was required in 309 cases and 2095 of them got discharged after an average hospital stay of one day, which was also the median period of hospital stay due to the side effect.
No deaths were recorded among all the cases, nine people were still hospitalized after the median stay period and no data was available for the remaining five patients.
According to Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the vaccine education center and a professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, the outcome of the risk versus benefit calculation of the vaccine is obvious.
Offit implies that it is a common misconception that children don’t get sick from covid and that getting vaccinated causes greater risk, whereas the reality is getting covid-19 is much more dangerous than getting a side effect from the vaccine.
However, the Food and Drug Administration has implied that a warning label will be attached with the Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna vaccines for any possible side effects so that the lookout for any such symptoms becomes easier on part of the healthcare providers.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.