Young people are more likely to suffer heart inflammation from COVID-19 infection than they are from the vaccines, a new study finds.
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, analyzed data from COVID-19 patients and vaccine recipients aged 12 to 17.
They found heart inflammation, also known as myocarditis, after contracting the virus was six times more likely than after receiving the vaccine among teen boys, and 21 times higher among girls.
In June 2021, an advisory group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention C(DC) said there is a 'likely link' between rare cases of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults and the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
This has led to vaccine skepticism among younger people and less vaccine uptake than seen in older age groups.
Cases of heart inflammation were six times more likely among boys who contract COVID compared to those who receive the vaccine, and 21 times more likely for girls. The condition has been reported by the CDC as a potential side-effect to receiving the vaccine
Young people aged 16 to 20 are most likely to suffer from heart inflammation after receive the vaccine. The condition can also often occur after a viral infection like COVID
'Our results suggest that, even for this high-risk subgroup [young males], the risk of myocarditis from COVID-19 infection is about 5.9 times as great, at a rate of 450 cases per million,' the research team wrote in the study, published on pre-pint serve medRxiv.
Researchers analyzed data from around 28,000 teens between ages 12 and 17 for the study.
Half of the participants contracted COVID-19, and the other half received the vaccine.
They found the risk of myocarditis was six times higher among teen boys after being infected with COVID-19 than after receiving the first or second dose of the vaccine.
Among teen girls, the risk was 21 times higher.
The researchers noted that the 16-to-19 age range was
