The FDA is planning to add a warning label to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines about the chances of developing a rare heart condition.
The CDC has been following and investigating about 1,200 cases of myocarditis and pericarditis — two types of heart inflammation that are rare. Of the cases reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, most of the patients who experienced these side effects were males under the age of 16, and most occurred after the 2nd dose of an mRNA vaccine. About 65% of the cases were linked to the Pfizer shot.
The CDC notes, however, that about 177 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, and that the benefits of getting the shot still outweigh the risk. The agency still recommends that all Americans over the age of 12 get the vaccine.
