A very rare side-effect from vaccination has been detected in seven male teenage boys in the US as they complained of chest pain within days of receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 shot, according to a new study. All the seven male teenagers were between the ages of 14 and 19. They were reported to the hospital with chest pain after getting the jab of Pfizer vaccine, according to the study published in Pediatrics Friday.
Scans of the teenagers with heart inflammation showed a type of muscle inflammation called myocarditis, which is currently being monitored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a potentially rare side effect to the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna. Authorities in Israel, Europe, and the U.S. are also investigating the rare link between mRNA vaccines and heart problems.
Pfizer vaccine shot is said to be 94% effective in preventing intensive care unit admissions or deaths, while it can reduce infections by 78%, according to earlier reports.
A spokesperson for Pfizer said any adverse events related to the vaccine are thoroughly reviewed and that no causal link to the vaccine has been established at this time. Pfizer has already delivered more than 300 million doses worldwide.
Moreover, it's unclear if the heart inflammation in the teens is caused by the shots as the reports still are rare although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges everyone 12 and older to get vaccinated.
Reportedly, the cases of heart inflammation seem to occur mostly in males and in young adults and the most common side effects of the Pfizer vaccine include headache, muscle aches, and fatigue after the second dose.
Meanwhile, United States is set to donate 500 million Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses to 100 poor nations worldwide at a cost of $3.5 billion. The vaccine donation announcement by the Biden administration is the largest ever by a single country so far.
Pfizer To Expand Tests of COVID-19 Vaccine in Minors
Pfizer recently announced that it will start testing its COVID-19 vaccine in a larger group of children (below 12 years of age) with a lower dose of the vaccine shot in an earlier stage of the trial.
The company is set to enroll up to 4,500 children for the study at over 90 clinical sites in the United States, Poland, Finland, and Spain, according to reports. Enrolment of 5 to 11-year-olds for the new study also began this week.
