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An advisory group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there is a 'likely link' between rare cases of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults and the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
In a presentation released on Wednesday, the COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical (VaST) Work Group discussed nearly 500 reports of the heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, in vaccinated adults under age 30.
The group of doctors said he risk of myocarditis or pericarditis following vaccination with the mRNA-based shots in adolescents and young adults is notably higher after the second dose and in males
It comes as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is set to meet this week to assess the possibility of a link between the heart condition and the mRNA vaccines.
The CDC's COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group said Wednesday that there is a 'likely link' between rare heart inflammation and vaccines, especially after the second dose in adults under age 30
Young males were up to seven times more likely to report heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, than young women
According to the presentation, there have been 484 preliminary reports of myocarditis or pericarditis in young people under age 30 as of June 11.
So far, 323 have been confirmed by CDC and 148 are still under review.
In total, 309 patients were hospitalized, of which 295 were discharged and 79 percent have since recovered.
Nine patients are still hospitalized with two in intensive care units. There was no data available for five patients.
Males were much more likely to report heart inflammation after receiving a second dose than women.
As of June 11, there were 9.1 per million reported cases of myocarditis/pericarditis in females ages 12-to-17 compared to 66.7 per million in males of that age group.
What's more, rates among females ages 18-to-24 and ages 25-to-29 were 5.5 per million and 2.6 per million respectively.
