Benefits of Covid-19 vaccine found to outweigh risks of rare heart inflammation

 

Benefits of Covid-19 vaccine found to outweigh risks of rare heart inflammation

 

There's a likely association between the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines and rare cases of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults, but the benefits of vaccination still clearly outweigh the risks, vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded during a virtual meeting last week.    Cases of the heart conditions were rare -- the CDC has received 1,226 preliminary reports of myocarditis and pericarditis following about 300 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle and pericarditis is inflammation of the heart lining.    The inflammation cases appeared to be mild, and they resolved quickly.  After the meeting, the US Food and Drug Administration added a warning about the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis to fact sheets for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines.    The FDA is advising vaccine recipients to seek immediate medical attention if they experience "chest pain, shortness of breath, or feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering, or pounding heart after vaccination."