Scientists believe there is a link between two minor heart conditions and the Covid-19 vaccine – but they say the risk is minuscule.
From analysis of UK and international data, there has been a signal of an increase of cases of myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination with both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle, while pericarditis is inflammation of the lining around your heart.
Symptoms include the onset of chest pain, shortness of breath or feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering, or pounding heart.
The Government urge anyone who develops these symptoms within 2 weeks of a COVID-19 vaccination should urgently seek medical assistance.
Most individuals respond well to standard treatment and recover quickly.
The link between the Covid jabs and these two conditions, according to data, is strongest in younger men, and the median onset is within three days of vaccination.
But the risk is incredibly small, according to the data.
In the US 296 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine had been given by 11 June with 1,226 reports of myocarditis after vaccination.
And in the UK, up to July 2021, there were 149 reports of myocarditis and 129 reports of pericarditis following use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, 82 reports of myocarditis and 140 reports of pericarditis following use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 25 reports of myocarditis and 22 reports of pericarditis following use of the Moderna vaccine.
This means the overall rates after both the first and second doses of Pfizer/BioNTech are 4.3 myocarditis cases per million doses and 3.8 pericarditis cases per million doses, for the rate is 1.7 myocarditis cases per million doses and 3.0 pericarditis cases per million doses, and for Moderna the rate is 14.7 myocarditis cases per million doses and 13.0 pericarditis cases per million doses.
There is a considerably stronger link between Covid patients and heart problems however.
According to figures, approximately 18 per cent of hospitalised patients suffering myocardial injury.
Meanwhile, in a US study of 1,597 athletes with recent SARS-CoV-2 infection, 0.31 per cent were diagnosed with myocarditis using a symptom-based screening strategy and 2.3 per cent were diagnosed with clinical or subclinical myocarditis.
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