Myocarditis In Young Males Linked To Vaccine? CDC Holding Emergency Meeting To Discuss

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 vaccine advisory committee will host an emergency meeting next week to discuss a "higher number of observed than expected" cases of heart inflammation cases in 16–24-year-olds who received their second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Fox News reports the higher than expected reports of heart inflammation is most common in young males. The advisory committee said the June 18 meeting will address the conditions that are higher than expected but still very rare and have not been directly linked to the vaccines.

Draft agenda for June 18 shows "COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in adolescents and young adults: benefit-risk discussion" as an agenda item. The virtual meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 am.

The agency has received 275 preliminary reports of the heart inflammation as of May 31 — known as myocarditis and pericarditis — among 16 to 24-year-olds, CDC’s Dr. Tom Shimabukuro said Thursday.

Over 12 million people within that age group have been fully vaccinated.

"It’s a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison because, again, these are preliminary reports," Shimabukuro said to CBS News. "Not all these will turn out to be true myocarditis or pericarditis reports."

He said the condition is more prevalent in younger males and that most who reported the condition have since fully recovered.