Why kids should still get COVID-19 jabs despite heart swelling risk

The Nation/Asia News Network

BANGKOK — Children should receive their Covid-19 vaccines despite the risk of them developing myocarditis or inflammation of the heart muscle because the virus is far more dangerous, leading Thai virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan said in a Facebook comment on Sunday.

Citing a study on boys and girls aged 12-15 that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on January 26, he said boys were more at risk of developing myocarditis after receiving their second Pfizer jab.

“The ratio of boys at risk of myocarditis stood at one to 12,361, while that of girls was 10 times lower at one for every 144,439,” he said.

However, he said, most myocarditis patients had developed mild symptoms and could be cured without requiring treatment.

The study was conducted on 400,000 teenagers who had received their first jab and 320,000 who had received their second jab.

“With the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, children should receive their jabs to cut down the chance of severe infection. However, it is still up to the parents on whether they want their children to receive a jab or not,” he said.

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