HT15. COVID-19 vaccinated individuals may be ill…See more

These numbers are small, but they are not zero. And for the individuals who experience serious cases, the consequences can be significant, including hospitalizations, intensive care admissions, and in very rare instances, death.

Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and a senior author of the study, is quick to emphasize that the condition is usually manageable. “It’s not a heart attack in the traditional sense,” he said. “There’s no blockage of blood vessels as found in most common heart attacks. When symptoms are mild and the inflammation hasn’t caused structural damage to the heart, we just observe these patients to make sure they recover.”

He is equally quick to note the broader context: a COVID-19 infection itself is approximately ten times more likely to cause myocarditis than the mRNA vaccine designed to prevent it — on top of all the other serious complications the illness can bring.