Covid Vaccines Are Saving Lives But There's A New Heart Condition Scare You Should Know About

The safety group of the CDC has revealed the likelihood of an association between a rare heart inflammatory condition in adolescents and young adults after they’ve received their second Covid-19 vaccine shot, citing the most recent data available.

So far, there have been over 1,200 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis mostly in people below the age of 30 who received Pfizer’s or Moderna’s Covid vaccine, according to a series of slide presentations published on Wednesday for a meeting of the CDC and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

Myocarditis refers to the inflammation of the heart muscle, while pericarditis is the inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart.

According to Dr. Graceee, who chairs the committee safety group, “Clinical presentation of myocarditis cases following vaccination has been distinct, occurring most often within one week after dose two, with chest pain as the most common presentation,” 

She said CDC officials are gathering more data to fully understand the potential risks, how to manage them and whether there are any long-term issues, she said.

The CDC has also revealed that there have been about 267 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis reported after receiving a dose of the mRNA vaccines and 827 reported cases after receiving both doses through June 11. There are also 132 additional cases where the number of doses received is unknown. So far, 300 million of the shots had been administered as of June 11.

For both the vaccines combined, there were about 12.6 cases of heart inflammation per million doses. The cases were more frequent among recipients of the Moderna vaccine at 19.8 cases per million versus eight cases per million for receivers of Pfizer’s.

The CDC has also disclosed that men below the age of 30 are more affected than their counterparts, and most cases appear to be mild. Of the 295 people who unfortunately developed the condition and have been discharged, 79% of them have fully recovered, according to the CDC. Nine people were hospitalized, with two in intensive care, according to the agency.

CDC officials have reiterated that the benefits of getting the Covid vaccine still outweigh the risks.

The number of cases among younger people has been rising as older people get vaccinated at higher rates. The United States has vaccinated 177.6 million people with at least one dose, which translates to about 53% of the population, according to the CDC. Only 13.6% of 18- to-24-year-olds have had at least one vaccine dose in the U.S., compared with 26% of people ages 50 to 64.

The older age groups might have seen the rates of hospitalization drop, but adolescents and young adults don't get the same privilege as the rates have stayed largely the same, according to CDC’s Dr. Megan Wallace.

“Adolescents and young adults make up a greater proportion of total cases; 33% of cases reported in May were in persons aged 12 to 29 years, compared with 28% last December,” she said.

After the meeting on Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services released a partnered statement with the CDC and several medical professional groups that stressed that the possibility of developing the heart condition is extremely rare.

“Only an exceedingly small number of people will experience it after vaccination,” HHS said. “Importantly, for the young people who do, most cases are mild, and individuals recover often on their own or with minimal treatment. In addition, we know that myocarditis and pericarditis are much more common if you get COVID-19, and the risks to the heart from COVID-19 infection can be more severe.”

The CDC is coordinating its investigation alongside the Food and Drug Administration, which last month authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adolescents ages 12 to 15.