A 19-year-old man was hospitalized with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, five days after receiving his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, the emergency medical clinic TEREM reported.
According to the clinic, it has not yet been confirmed with certainty that inflammation has developed as a side effect of vaccination. However, according to the National Institutes of Health, several cases of myocarditis have been related to COVID-19.
“The fact that symptoms started immediately after vaccination suggests that an immune response may have triggered the inflammation,” said Dr. Abdulhadi Farojeh, medical director of TEREM.
The young man was treated at a TEREM center in Modi’in on Sunday evening before being transferred by ambulance for further treatment to the Shamir Medical Center in Be’er Yaakov. He is being treated in intensive care.
According to Dr. Badarnih Bahaa, the person had experienced a rapid heart rate from the time of his second vaccination, along with shortness of breath and sharp pain radiating to his left arm.
The TEREM performed blood tests that revealed inflammation of the heart.
Without treatment, myocarditis can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and even death.
The 19-year-old had no underlying illness prior to the event.
In late December, shortly after Israel launched its vaccination campaign, a 75-year-old man from Beit She’an died of a heart attack about two hours after being vaccinated, the health ministry reported. However, the ministry said the man had pre-existing conditions and had suffered from heart disease in the past, ultimately determining that the vaccination was unlikely to be related to his death.
In general, most people who get vaccinated have mild side effects, when they do, according to Department of Health reports. Only a few dozen people need medical attention after the injection.