Health authorities are trying to determine whether heart inflammation that may occur with multiple infections after receiving a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine may also be a rare side effect in adolescents and young adults.
A report published online Friday in the Journal of Pediatrics on 7 teenage boys in the United States in several states is one of the latest reports of heart inflammation found after COVID-19 vaccination, but the link with the vaccine has not been confirmed.
These 14 to 19-year-old boys received a Pfizer BioNTech vaccine in April or May and developed chest pain within a few days. Heart imaging tests show a type of inflammation of the heart muscle called myocarditis.
No one is critically ill. The co-author of the report, Dr. Preeti Jaggi, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, said that everyone is healthy enough to be sent home after two to six days of hospitalization and is "well."
She said that more follow-up is needed to determine how fares are for the seven, but the heart change is likely to be temporary.
Only one of the seven boys in the pediatric report has evidence that they may have previously been infected with the coronavirus, and doctors determined that none of them had rare inflammation related to the coronavirus.
These cases echo the reports of young men diagnosed in Israel after receiving Pfizer injections.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminded doctors last month that it is monitoring reports of heart inflammation in a small number of teenagers and young adults following the mRNA vaccine, which is produced by Pfizer and Moderna.
The CDC has not yet determined whether it is really related to the vaccine, and continues to urge everyone 12 years and older to get the COVID-19 vaccine because the risk of this disease is much higher than the vaccine. Pfizer vaccines have been authorized for use in children as young as 12 years old; Moderna lenses are only allowed for adult use.
This inflammation of the heart can be caused by a variety of infections, including COVID-19 and certain medications, and there are few reports of other types of vaccinations.
The authorities will have to figure out whether the COVID-19 vaccination cases are more frequent than the expected "background incidence".
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that most of the patients are men, who develop symptoms after the second dose, and their symptoms improve rapidly.
"I think we are in a waiting period and we need to see if this is causal," said John Grabenstein of the Immunization Action Coalition, who was the head of the Department of Defense's immunization program.
The comments published along with the pediatric report pointed out that among children under the age of 18 in the United States, there are more than 4 million cases of COVID-19, more than 15,000 hospitalizations and at least 300 deaths.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday that COVID-19-related hospitalizations for children aged 12 to 17 declined at the beginning of this year, but rose again in March and April. Institutional researchers said possible reasons include the spread of new virus variants, more children returning to school, or relaxation of masks and social distancing rules.
Although infected children are less likely to be seriously ill than adults, the CDC's data on about 200 hospitalizations from 14 states shows that one third of them are treated in intensive care units. The report did not mention any heart involvement.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Varensky, said that the hospitalization caused concern and urged parents to vaccinate their children.
She said in a statement: "Vaccination is our way to escape this pandemic."
Pediatrics commented that cases of heart inflammation require more investigation, but added: “The benefits of vaccination against this deadly and highly contagious disease clearly far outweigh any potential risks.”
Co-author, Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, Chair of the Infectious Diseases Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, participated in Pfizer vaccine research, including a COVID-19 vaccine study for children.