By Alisa Odenheimer (Bloomberg) | June 2, 2021
Israel health officials have found a probable link between Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s coronavirus vaccine and dozens of cases of heart inflammation in young men following the second dose of the vaccine, the Health Ministry said late Tuesday.
The vaccine has been administered to more than 5 million people in the country, and the number of coronavirus cases has plummeted. The Health Ministry said on Wednesday that despite the possible link, it would expand its vaccination drive to 12-16 year olds. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized its use for this age group.
According to a study by health officials, there were 275 cases of myocarditis identified between December 2020, when the vaccination drive began, and May 2021, including 148 cases within a month after vaccination. Of these, 27 cases occurred after the first dose and 121 following the second dose. In both cases, about half were in people with previous medical conditions.
Most of the cases occurred in young men, especially those between 16 and 19 years old. In most cases, patients were hospitalized for four days or less, and in 95% of the cases were classified as mild, the ministry said.
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