CLAIM: Patients who have myocarditis have a very high chance of dying within 10 years.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Claims that patients with myocarditis, a condition where the heart muscle is inflamed, have a very high mortality rate come from a misreading of decades-old data that focused only on the most ill patients. Furthermore, while health officials say myocarditis may be an extremely rare side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine for young people, severe cases are even more unlikely.
THE FACTS: Very rarely, teens and young adults given the Pfizer vaccine or a similar one made by Moderna experience a serious side effect, heart inflammation, or what doctors call myocarditis. It’s mostly in young men or teen boys, and usually after the second dose. They tend to recover quickly, and after intense scrutiny U.S. health authorities concluded the vaccine’s benefits outweigh that small risk, The Associated Press reported.
“The facts are clear: this is an extremely rare side effect, and only an exceedingly small number of people will experience it after vaccination. Importantly, for the young people who do, most cases are mild, and individuals recover often on their own or with minimal treatment,” read a statement issued last June by top U.S. government health officials, medical organizations, laboratory and hospital associations.
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