Comparisons of the risk of myopericarditis between COVID-19 patients and individuals receiving COVID-19 vaccines: a population-based study

ABSTRACT

BackgroundBoth COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 vaccines have been associated with the development of myopericarditis. The objective of this study is to 1) analyze the rates of myopericarditis after COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 vaccination in Hong Kong and 2) compare to the background rates, and 3) compare the rates of myopericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination to those reported in other countries. MethodsThis was a population-based cohort study from Hong Kong, China. Patients with positive RT-PCR test for COVID-19 between 1st January 2020 and 30th June 2021 or individuals who received COVID-19 vaccination until 31st August were included. The main exposures were COVID-19 positivity or COVID-19 vaccination. The primary outcome was myopericarditis. ResultsThis study included 11441 COVID-19 patients from Hong Kong, of whom four suffered from myopericarditis (rate per million 350; 95% confidence interval [CI] 140-900). The rate was higher than the pre-COVID-19 background rate in 2020 (rate per million 61, 95% CI 55-67) with a rate ratio of 5.73 (95% CI 2.23-14.73. Compared to background rates, the rate of myopericarditis among vaccinated subjects in Hong Kong was substantially lower (rate per million 8.6; 95% CI 6.4-11.6) with a rate ratio of 0.14 (95% CI 0.10-0.19). The rates of myocarditis after vaccination in Hong Kong are comparable to those vaccinated in the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom. ConclusionsCOVID-19 infection is associated with a higher rate of myopericarditis whereas COVID-19 vaccination is associated with a lower rate of myopericarditis compared to the background.