Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Linked With Raised Risk of Carditis (Heart Inflammation)

Regardless of reduced absolute risk, Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine linked with a raised risk of carditis.

Considerably increased risk in teenagers after the second dosage may call for sophisticated vaccination strategies.

A case-control research study found an elevated relative risk of carditis associated with BNT162b2 (also known as Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine) vaccination, regardless of reduced absolute risk. Considering the substantially increased risk in adolescents after the second dose, vaccination strategies might require regularly account for the risk and benefits for different sub-populations, rather than taking a ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the findings on Monday, January 24.

Pfizer vaccine and carditis

Carditis is a rare inflammation of the heart typically brought on by bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. Common subtypes of carditis feature myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and also pericarditis, swelling of the external lining of the heart. Case reports of carditis after BNT162b2 vaccination have actually grown around the world. Numerous research studies have additionally reported comparable discoveries. However, there are limitations to the analytic research on the speculative association.

Scientists from the University of Hong Kong studied 160 case patients (with carditis) along with 1,533 control patients (without carditis). They did this to screen the possible risk of carditis related to vaccination with BNT162b2 or CoronaVac. Ten control patients were paired with case patients based on age, sex, and hospital admission date.

After conducting analyses, the authors discovered 20 cases of carditis linked to BNT162b2 and seven related to CoronaVac vaccination. Patients who took BNT162b2 were three times more likely to experience carditis than unvaccinated patients. On the other hand, patients who obtained CoronaVac had a similar probability as unvaccinated patients to experience carditis.

The authors observed predominant risk increase linked to BNT162b2 in males and higher likelihood after the second dose.

Cumulative occurrence of carditis after vaccination was 0.57 per 100,000 doses of BNT162b2 and 0.31 per 100,000 doses of CoronaVac, showing a really reduced absolute risk of carditis after vaccination.

According to the authors, the ICU did not admit any of the 20 case patients after BNT162b2 vaccination, nor did any die, during the observation period. In comparison, with 14 of 133 unvacinated patients admitted to the ICU and 12 fatalities.

Read the original article on Scitech Daily.

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