WHO sees 'likely' COVID-19 vaccine link to rare heart inflammation

The World Health Organization on Friday, July 9, said that there was a "likely causal association" between coronavirus vaccine using mRNA technology and "very rare" heart inflammations. However, the benefits still outweigh the risks, added WHO.

The UN health body's Global Advisory Committee on VaccineSafety (GACVS) said that cases of myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, inflammation of the lining around the heart, had been reported in multiple countries, especially the US.

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In a statement, the committee said, "The reported cases have typically occurred within days of vaccination, more commonly among younger males and more often following the second dose of the COVID-19mRNAvaccines".

The GACVS has concluded that "current evidence suggests a likely causal association between myocarditis and the mRNA vaccines".

Most cases of myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccinations were "mild" and required only "conservative" treatment, the committee said.

The WHO said the European Medical Agency's pharmacovigilance committee, which tracks medicines' side effects, had also seen a "plausible causal relationship" in a review of the data this week.

Myocarditis is a rare disease that experts believe is usually triggered by a virus.

Meanwhile, previously, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asserted heart inflammation among some teenagers and young adults after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

n a statement dated May 17, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said that many adolescents and young adults who were predominantly male develop myocarditis after the vaccine.