Myocarditis Cases Probably Linked to Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine, Says Israel Health Ministry: Reuters - Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX)

Israel’s Health Ministry has reportedly found the small number of heart inflammation cases, observed mainly in young men who received Pfizer Inc’s PFE COVID-19 vaccine in Israel, were likely linked to their vaccination.
Pfizer said that it was aware of the Israeli observations of myocarditis and said no causal link to its vaccine had been established.
In Israel, 275 cases of myocarditis were reported between December 2020 and May 2021 among more than 5 million vaccinated people.
According to the study, most patients who experienced heart inflammation spent no more than four days in the hospital, and 95% of the cases were classified as mild.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory group last month recommended further study of the possibility of a link between myocarditis and mRNA vaccines, including those from Pfizer - BioNTech SE BNTX and Moderna Inc MRNA.
In a May 24 meeting, the CDC advisory group said that the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System data showed a higher-than-expected number of observed myocarditis or pericarditis cases in 16– to 24-year-olds.
The European Medicines Agency said last week that heart inflammation after receiving the PFE vaccine had been no cause for concern as such incidents were similar rate to those in the general population.
It added at the time that young men were particularly prone to the condition.
Israel had held off making its 12- to 15-year-old population eligible for the vaccines, pending the Health Ministry report.
Price Action: PFE shares are up 0.70% at $38.77, and BNTX shares are up 4.95% at $216.36 on the last check Wednesday.

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