Citing concerns about an increased risk of heart inflammation, Taiwanese health authorities have suspended the administering of second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for teens.
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) panel of experts made the decision to cease giving the jab to children aged between 12 and 17 pending further review.
CECC’s head Chen Shih-chung explained that they opted to call a halt to the second dose of the vaccine due to concerns about an increased risk of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the heart’s outer lining).
The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices of the Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare said that the second dose to 12- to 17-year-olds is suspended for a two-week period during which experts from Taiwan’s CDC will examine the 16 reported myocarditis cases among Taiwanese teens after BNT vaccination.
They will be making a final decision on whether to go ahead with the second shot after that.
Chen added that, in the meantime, there will be no vaccination of children under 11 years old and international data will also be considered since Hong Kong and the UK has made changes in vaccination protocol following the reported cases of cardiac issues among double vaccinated teens.
Hong Kong, for instance, changed its policy regarding administering Covid-19 vaccines to adolescents to only a single dose for those aged 12-17 while the UK recommends only one shot for children aged 12 to 18.
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has also updated in November its data sheet for cardiac issues risk related with the vaccines, stressing they’re are actively monitoring reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination.
They’re info says that cases of myocarditis were reported after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), especially in male adolescents and young adults, more often after the second dose was administered and usually within several days after vaccination.
Yet, CDC continues to recommend vaccination of everyone older than 12 years, emphasizing that the known risks of COVID-19 far outweigh the potential risks of a rare adverse reaction to the vaccines.
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