US investigating heart problem in a few young Covid-19 vaccine recipients

There were 'relatively few' cases and they may be entirely unrelated to the jab

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is looking into reports that a very small number of teenagers and young adults vaccinated against the coronavirus may have experienced heart problems, The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing the agency's vaccine safety group.
 
The CDC is reviewing several dozen reports that teenagers and young adults may have developed myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, after vaccination, the New York Times said, citing CDC officials.
 
Reuters could not immediately reach the CDC for comment.
 

There were “relatively few” cases and they may be entirely unrelated to vaccination, the newspaper said, citing a statement from the CDC’s vaccine safety group.

 
The review is in the early stages, and the agency has yet to determine whether there is any evidence the vaccines caused the heart condition, the New York Times said.
 
The heart problem seems to have occurred predominantly in adolescents and young adults about four days after their second dose of either the Moderna Inc or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, both of which are mRNA vaccines.
 
Earlier this month the US authorized the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12 to 15. Vaccination has started for the age group since.
 

Covid cases in US halve in a month
 

Covid-19 cases and deaths in the US continue to plunge, despite the slowed pace of vaccinations. The US recorded almost 28,600 new cases on Friday, with the seven-day average roughly half the level of a month ago, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Meanwhile, all of the Covid-19 deaths in Alaska over the last few weeks have been people who were not vaccinated, the Anchorage Daily News reported, quoting state health officials. The newspaper cited about “about a dozen Covid-19 deaths” reported in the last three weeks, including a man in his 20s and one over 80.

 
“Really what you see now in the emergency department and the hospital is people who are not getting vaccinated. Some are getting sick and some unfortunately are dying,” Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, was quoted as saying. Of the more than 123 million people in the U.S. who were fully vaccinated through May 17, 353 died, according to data from the CDC. About 38 per cent of all Alaskans are fully vaccinated, even with the U.S. average, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.  Bloomberg