A number of myocarditis cases which were reported in the aftermath of the coronavirus vaccine were likely linked to the inoculation, the Health Ministry announced Tuesday evening. The majority of the cases involved young men.

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the hearth muscle which can be caused by a viral infection, but also appears as a reaction to a medication.

Israel has been inoculating its population with the Pfizer mRNA vaccine.

After the ministry received reports on some cases diagnosed closely after a coronavirus vaccination, a committee of experts was appointed to look into the issue. The committee included public health experts specialized in epidemiology, members of the National Center for Disease Control and academics from the Tel Aviv University, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology and Haifa University.

Out of the 275 cases reported in the period, some 148 occurred in the aftermath of a dose of the coronavirus vaccine – 27 cases out of 5,401,150 recipients of the first dose and 121 within 30 days after the second dose (out of 5,049,424). Some 11 patients of the former and 60 of the latter suffered from pre-existing conditions.

Many of the cases were reported among men 16-30, and especially ages 16-19. In addition, most of the patients were discharged from the hospital in less than four days, and 95% of the cases were considered mild.

“There is a likelihood of a connection between receiving a second dose of vaccine and the onset of myocarditis in young men aged 16-30,” the group of experts concluded.
“The connection is stronger in young people aged 16-19 compared to other ages and it decreases as age increases. In most cases, it is a mild illness that passes within a few days.”
Pfizer said in a statement that it is aware of the Israeli observations of myocarditis, noting that no causal link to its vaccine has been established.
Adverse events are thoroughly reviewed and Pfizer meets regularly with the Vaccine Safety Department of the Israeli Ministry of Health to review data, it said.
A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory group last month recommended further study of the possibility of a link between myocarditis and mRNA vaccines, which include those from Pfizer and Moderna Inc.