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Reports of carditis among a small portion of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine recipients, most of whom are males under 30, are under review as an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss the problem further.
Tom Shimabukuro, deputy director of the CDC’s Office of Vaccination Safety, noted 275 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis among vaccinated males ages 16 to 24 as of May 31 against a background of more than 12 million doses administered. give it. While younger groups 12-24 years of age accounted for nearly 9% of all doses given, the cohort comprised more than half (52.5%) of 528 reports of heart problems in all age groups.
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“We clearly have a flaw there,” Shimabukuro said last week during a virtual meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).
The number of reports observed among those aged 16-24 years exceeded the number expected; For example, while there were 2 to 19 expected cases of myocarditis/pericarditis in adolescents aged 16 to 17 years, 79 occurred.
Cases occur more often after second doses, and chest pain has been said to be a “characteristic” symptom. Of the 475 initial reports — not all cases will be classified as myocarditis/pericarditis cases, Shimabukuro said — 270 patients have been discharged, 180 of whom have fully recovered from symptoms, while 19% still have symptoms or an unknown condition.
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Last week, Shimabukuro said analysis of the initial reports was underway, and officials were conducting a follow-up to obtain medical records to confirm cases of heart disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Immunization Practices Advisory Committee is scheduled to provide an update on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, June 18, including for myocarditis following mRNA vaccinations.
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