Study shows vaccinated children less likely to get Myocarditis

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) - While there is still cause for concern, cases of myocarditis in vaccinated children are rare.

Dr. Matthew Oster is a cardiologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He led a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which shows that less than .01 percent of those vaccinated actually developed myocarditis.

“Fortunately, people who have this myocarditis from the vaccine it tends to be rather mild and pretty self-limited. Most are admitted to the hospital primarily for observation, but they tend to get better really quickly with just some pain management,” Oster said.

Dr. Oster said teens and young adults who have experienced these rare cases have responded well to treatment and improved in a matter of days.

“We are still seeing a lot more kids getting hospitalized and having severe affects from getting COVID than we see from the vaccine,” Oster said.

According to Oster, available research shows that children are more likely to develop myocarditis or other similar cases involving inflammation of organs if they contract COVID and have not been vaccinated.

“We’ve had hundreds of kids admitted for MIS-C, Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome, in children which frequently includes heart disease and some of those kids have been really, really sick basically requiring life support while their hearts are quite sick and taking time to recover,” Oster said.