Details released in an Israeli report by the Ministry of Health have raised concerns among experts about a possible link between the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and myocarditis, according to The Times of Israel.
The preliminary report of a committee tasked with monitoring the side effects of the vaccine found 62 cases of myocarditis, including two deaths, in people who received the Pfizer vaccine. Fifty-six of the cases occurred after the second dose of vaccine, and 55 cases occurred in men – most between the ages of 18 and 30.
The two patients who died were reportedly healthy until the vaccine was given and had no pre-existing conditions. One was a 22-year-old woman, the other was a 35-year-old man. The report said 5 million people in Israel had been vaccinated against coronavirus.
The Israeli coordinator of the vaccination campaign, Nachman Ash, confirmed that “dozens of incidents” of myocarditis occurred in vaccinated people, mainly after the second dose, but stressed that the Ministry of Health has not yet drawn conclusions.
Determining a link, Ash said, would be difficult because myocarditis, a condition that often goes uncomplicated, can be caused by a variety of viruses and a similar number of cases have been reported in previous years, Reuters reported.
However, according to researchers at the National Organization for Rare Disorders, myocarditis can result from infections, but “more often myocarditis is the result of the body’s immune response to initial heart damage.”
The Israeli researchers presented their findings to the Israeli director general of health, Pfizer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Asked by Reuters about the review, Pfizer said he had been in regular contact with the Israeli Ministry of Health to review data on his vaccine and was aware of Israeli observations of myocarditis that occurred, mainly in young men.
The researchers who conducted the Israeli study pointed out that further investigations are needed to confirm a link between myocarditis and the vaccine, but added that they have significant concerns. They wrote: “At this stage, according to preliminary findings, which require additional corroboration, there is the impression of a higher number than expected, especially for ages up to 30 years.
A more advanced report on this topic will be prepared soon. “ “The impression is that there is an increase in the incidence of the phenomenon, especially in young men, at a scale of 1: 20,000 after vaccination. The onset of myocarditis is likely to be associated with the administration of the vaccine (especially the second dose).