Israel’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that it found that a small number of cases of cardiac inflammation seen mainly in young men who received the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech in the country were likely related to their inoculation.
Israeli authorities reported 275 cases of myocarditis between December 2020 and May 2021 among more than 5 million vaccinated people, the ministry said in revealing the findings of a study it commissioned on the matter.
Most of the patients who experienced cardiac inflammation did not spend more than four days in the hospital and 95% of the cases were classified as mild, according to the research, which according to the portfolio was carried out by three teams of experts.
The study found that “there is a probable link between receiving the second dose (from Pfizer) of the vaccine and the development of myocarditis among men aged 16 to 30 years,” according to a statement.
According to the findings, such a link was seen more among men aged 16 to 19 than in other age groups.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said last week that myocarditis after the Pfizer vaccine had not been a cause for concern because it continued to occur at a rate that normally affects the general population. He added that young men were particularly prone to the condition.
An advisory group from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month recommended an additional study of the possibility of a link between myocarditis and mRNA vaccines, including those from Pfizer and Moderna.
Israel remains the country with the most advanced vaccination campaign, as six out of 10 citizens are currently fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Israel lifted virtually all covid restrictions after a broad and swift nationwide vaccination campaign for those over 16 years of age. Only four new infections were registered that day.
A day after presenting the report on the relationship of the Pfizer vaccine with myocarditis, the Ministry of Health announced that adolescents between 12 and 15 years old may be inoculated against the coronavirus.
The ministry encouraged inoculation “to risk groups, including adolescents at medical risk of developing severe cases of coronavirus, adolescents living with relatives at risk and families planning to travel abroad.”
With information from AFP and Reuters
