ABSTRACT
Vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a critical strategy in controlling the current pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). After widespread COVID-19 vaccine imple-mentation, isolated case reports about myocarditis as a potential adverse reaction started coming. As of November 12, 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 1793 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis among young people with age 12-29 years, most cases have been reported in the male adolescent age group after the second dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. It is very important to monitor the safety standards and adverse reactions of vaccines to effectively implement the vaccination policies. The CDC and the United States Food and Drug Administration actively monitor vaccine-associated adverse reactions a well-known platform such as Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. CDC continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses for eligible individuals (age limit according to the type of vaccine) after careful consideration from risk-benefit assessment and favorable outcomes from vaccination. Mechanisms behind COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis are not clear yet but several possibilities such as molecular mimicry between the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and self-antigens, immune response to mRNA, and activation of host immunological system, trigger of the pre-existing dysregulated immunological system have been documented in the literature. Overall, data suggests a good prognosis, especially in young patients. In this review article, we cover currently available data on COVID-19 vaccine-related myocarditis incidence, concerns, possible mechanisms of myocarditis, current treatment, and outcome trends, risk vs benefit assessment of COVID-19 vaccination in this current pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province and has rapidly spread all over the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 01/30/2020 and recognized it as a pandemic on 03/11/2020. The number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide crossed the one million mark on 04/02/2020; two million mark on 04/15/2020; three million mark on 04/27/2020 and the four million mark on 05/09/2020. Despite containment efforts, more than 187 countries have been affected with more than 4,178,346 cases in the world with maximum being in USA (1,347,936) followed by 227,436 in Spain and 224,422 in United Kingdom as of May, 2020. COVID-19 is the latest threat to face mankind cutting across geographical barriers in a rapidly changing landscape. This review provides an update on a rapidly evolving global pandemic. As we face the threat of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, this is a stark reminder to invest in population health, climate change countermeasures, a global health surveillance system and effective research into identifying pathogens, their treatment and prevention and effective health delivery systems.