Adolescent Boys at Higher Risk of Hospitalization From Pfizer Vaccine Than From COVID

By Megan Redshaw

According to a new pre-print study, boys between the ages of 12 and 15, with no underlying medical conditions, were four to six times more likely to be diagnosed with vaccine-related myocarditis than they were to be hospitalized with COVID.

Healthy boys may be more likely to be admitted to the hospital with heart inflammation from the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine than with COVID itself, according to a new pre-print study.

U.S. researchers found boys between the ages of 12 and 15, with no underlying medical conditions, were four to six times more likely to be diagnosed with vaccine-related myocarditis than they were to be hospitalized with COVID.

To identify children with evidence of cardiac injury, the retrospective epidemiological assessment reviewed injury reports submitted between Jan.1 and June 18 to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 who received an mRNA COVID vaccine.

The researchers identified a total of 257 cardiac adverse events (CAE) using inclusion criteria that met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) working case definition of myocarditis.

The post-vaccination CAE rate was highest in 12- to 15-year-old boys following their second dose of Pfizer.

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Adolescent Boys at Higher Risk of Hospitalization From Pfizer Vaccine Than From COVID