Does Pfizer vaccine put you at risk for myocarditis? On June 1, Israel’s health ministry warned of a small number of cases of heart muscle inflammation in young men who received the Pfizer vaccine.

In a statement, Pfizer said it was aware of the observations but stressed that no causal link had been established between the vaccine and cases of myocarditis.

95% of cases classified as mild

How many cases are we talking about? In Israel, 275 cases of myocarditis were reported between December 2020 and May 2021 in more than five million people vaccinated, according to the ministry. Most often, no hospitalization was necessary and 95% of cases were classified as mild.

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Men aged 16 to 30

Who is concerned ? Mainly young men: 90% of cases recorded in Israel have occurred in men, notes a study commissioned by the Israeli Ministry of Health. And although myocarditis was naturally more common in young men, the rate of myocarditis in those vaccinated was between five and 25 times higher than the rate normally seen, according to this study.

This analysis thus reveals “that there is a probable association between the reception of the second dose and the development of myocarditis in men aged 16 to 30 years “. A link that seems particularly strong among the youngest of them, between 16 and 19 years old.

Cases in the United States and Europe

Why is the alert coming from Israel? Because the state has massively vaccinated its population with the Pfizer vaccine, including young adults in whom this effect may be more common. And the more people get the vaccine, the more rare possible side effects you can see.

But other cases of myocarditis in vaccinated people have been identified elsewhere in the world. Thus, on May 17, the US health authorities also reported identifying cases of myocarditis in young men vaccinated with Pfizer in the United States.

In Europe, the Medicines Agency (EMA) counted on May 28 107 cases of myocarditis following the injection of the Pfizer vaccine. That is about one case for 175,000 vaccinations.

15 cases in France

And in France ? On April 30, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) reported in its weekly update on the surveillance of anti-covid vaccines that five cases of myocarditis had been detected in France in people vaccinated with Pfizer.

These adverse effects were already the subject of specific monitoring by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) but “do not call into question the benefit / risk ratio“favorable vaccine, then underlined the ANSM. Since, a total of 15 cases of myocarditis were counted in France out of nearly 30 million injected doses.