The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that it had received reports of eight cases of a type of heart inflammation in children aged 5-11 years who had received the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, according to a story from Reuter’s.
The agency has been monitoring reports of cases of myocarditis following the COVID-19 vaccination. The CDC saw myocarditis cases in boys aged 16 to 17 at 69 cases per million following a second dose of the vaccine.
The rate for boys 12-15 was around 40 cases per million after a second dose of the vaccine.
The CDC did not establish a link between the vaccine and the eight cases of myocarditis reported for the age group. All the eight cases reported were mild, the agency said.
More than 5 million children ages 5-11 have had one dose of a Pfizer vaccine, with 2 million having received two doses.
A CDC safety group said earlier this year that for teens and young adults there is a “likely association” between the rare heart inflammation and a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Doctors have also seen cases of pericarditis, or an inflammation of the membrane that surrounds the heart. Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle itself.
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