Reports of Myocarditis Spiked During First Year of COVID-19 Vaccination: Study

Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine accounted for more than 62 percent of myocarditis cases reported in the first year of the US vaccination campaign

Researchers found that 30 percent of myocarditis cases were reported among people age 20 and younger and 50 percent among people age 30 and younger. Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock

Cases of myocarditis jumped 223 times in the first year of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the United States, with children and young adults at high risk of hospitalization and death, according to a recent study.

The peer-reviewed study, published in Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety on Jan. 27, investigated the role of COVID-19 vaccines as a determinant of myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle called the myocardium. The condition can reduce the ability of the heart to pump blood and result in irregular heart rhythms, shortness of breath, or chest pain.