Children are at much higher risk of myocarditis due to COVID-19 infection than vaccines

Dr. Peter McCullough, a Texas cardiologist, recently claimed in a study at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that the COVID-19 vaccine was shown to cause myocarditis in children. However, he took the data out of context and made a misleading claim about the safety of the vaccine, ignoring the greater health risks that COVID-19 infection poses to children.

The complaint came in the video interview When Infowars, A website known for publishing false stories and conspiracy theories. The title of the video is “StudyProvesChildren’s Hearts Destroyed By COVID Vaccine”.

“The data wasn’t good at all,” McCullough said. “In the end, there were 100 serious safety reports, 15% of which were elevated troponin, which means that children under the age of 12 have heart damage. Previously, this was possible. I didn’t expect. When I examined myocarditis before COVID-19 vaccinations I had never seen before puberty. “

This interview was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and false information in the news feed. (Read our details Partnership with Facebook). Several McCullough’s allegations regarding COVID-19 Teenage myocarditis When ChildrenPreviously, it was disproved as false or misleading. We contacted McCullough but did not receive a reply prior to publication.

Myocarditis, Or myocardial inflammation is rare in children. A Statement of June 2021 Signed by associations of specialists and federal health agencies, myocarditis is a very rare side effect after vaccination, and people with myocarditis often recover quickly.

The FDA has expanded the Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as follows: Children 5-11 years old October 29, 2021.The CDC study referenced by McCullough December 31, 2021 Report Review data from the agency’s two vaccine safety monitoring programs and VAERS When v-safe.. The 100 critical safety reports mentioned by McCullough were of a total of 4,249 adverse events, and 97.6% of these safety reports were not considered critical. Fifteen cases of elevated troponin levels account for 15% of serious adverse events, but they account for only 0.35% of all adverse events.

Further expanding these numbers, the 4,249 reported adverse events were among the 8.7 million vaccinations given during that period.Less than 1% of vaccinated children reported an increase Troponin, A protein released into the blood during heart damage. Of the 11 children confirmed to have myocarditis, 7 had recovered and the other 4 had recovered at the time the report was published.

All of the systemic reactions McCullough described in his interview were mild to moderately severe, most of which were fatigue and headaches.They are Common side effects It shows that the vaccine’s immune system is responding and building protection against the virus. Of the approximately 4,500-4,600 children who reported health effects through the v-safe app, only 1% needed medical care.

Studies show that a much greater risk factor for myocarditis is COVID-19 itself. A CDC Report for September 2021 Patients of all ages with COVID-19 were found to have a 16-fold increased risk of myocarditis compared to patients without COVID-19.And while COVID-19 is usually mild among children, some develop Pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndromeOr MIS-C, causes inflammation of various parts of the body, including the heart.

“Children are unlikely to be severely ill with COVID-19, but they can be infected with COVID-19, can be infected with COVID-19, and can die from COVID-19.” Said Dr. Matthew Elias, a cardiologist. interview With Philadelphia Children’s Hospital. “Even if there are no symptoms of an infection at first, many families can develop MIS-C that they have never heard of.”

“Children are much more likely to develop heart problems after COVID-19 infection than after vaccination,” Elias said. “If a child develops myocarditis after COVID-19 infection, it is usually much more severe than it does after vaccination.”

The American Heart Association When American Pediatric Society Both recommend COVID-19 vaccination for children over 5 years of age. Children are more likely to avoid heart complications from COVID-19 with vaccination than without vaccination.

We rate this claim as an error.