CDC to Meet Over Cases of Heart Issues After Vaccines

A CDC advisory committee will be meeting this week to evaluate the risk of heart inflammation found in primarily young men after receiving the coronavirus vaccine.

A higher than expected number of young men have experienced heart inflammation after their coronavirus vaccine- 323 cases out of 310 million vaccine doses as of June 14, Axios reported.

Though rare, cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have experts concerned it could indicate larger issues.

“Myocarditis is something that needs to be looked at closely because we’re likely seeing the tip of the iceberg,” said Michael Kurilla, a member of an FDA Advisory Committee on vaccines.

However, it is unlikely the advisory committee will recommend against the vaccines. Aside from being reported in less than .1% of people being vaccinated, the symptoms of these conditions are mild, and more than 80% of those who have symptoms serious enough to be hospitalized make a full recovery. There have been no reported deaths stemming from cases of myocarditis or pericarditis.

The committee “will do what they did for the J&J vaccine, which is to put it in context and allow the listener to understand the concept of relative risk — that a choice not to get these vaccines is not a risk-free choice,” said Paul Offit, a member of FDA’s vaccine advisory panel.

____

smarcus@hamodia.com