People infected with COVID-19 are at higher risk of myocarditis and other inflammatory heart conditions than those vaccinated against the disease, according to a study released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ).
The CDC found that the risk of myocarditis, pericarditis, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome was higher after COVID-19 infection than after vaccination with Pfizer or Moderna in men and women aged 5 years and older. However, these heart conditions are rare after infection and vaccination alike, according to the CDC.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis is an inflammation of the outer lining of the heart. Multisystem inflammation is a condition associated with COVID-19 infection that affects multiple organ systems.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been associated with an increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis after the second dose, particularly among children 12 to 17 years of age. However, even in this group, the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis was higher after COVID-19 infection than after vaccination, according to the CDC.
Among adolescent boys, the rate of myocarditis or pericarditis after infection was at least 50 cases per 100,000 people, compared with at least 22 cases per 100,000 after the second dose of the vaccine. The overall risk of heart conditions after COVID-19 infection was up to 5.6 times higher compared to the second dose of the vaccine. The risk was up to 69 times higher after infection compared to the first injection.
In February, the CDC said that men ages 12 to 39 should consider waiting eight weeks between the first and second doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to reduce the risk of myocarditis. Public health authorities in Canada found that the rate of myocarditis after vaccination with Pfizer or Moderna was higher when the time between the first and second doses was less than 30 days.
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Moderna’s second dose appears to be associated with a higher risk of myocarditis than Pfizer’s, according to data presented to the CDC’s vaccine expert committee in February. Public health authorities in Ontario, Canada found that the rate of myocarditis was 5 times higher for men aged 18 to 24 years after a second dose of Moderna compared to Pfizer.
However, the vast majority of people who developed myocarditis after vaccination fully recovered, and most reported no effect on their quality of life, according to a CDC survey of health care providers presented at the February meeting. .
It is Article was originally published in English by Spencer Kimball for our sister network CNBC.com. For more from CNBC enter here.
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