ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Parents are weighing the pros and cons of getting their kids vaccinated.
Pfizer is expected to file for Emergency Use Authorization with the FDA for ages five to 11 soon after sharing recent trial data.
Federal regulators will take a look at the risk of myocarditis, which is the inflammation of the heart muscle. Researchers say the risk is low.
It's more likely in young males under the age of 30.
Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Gerard Boyle says it’s roughly about 40 cases per 1 million people according to information as of June.
“I think the risk is really small really. The numbers are, the reports are still coming out,” Dr. Boyle said. “The data that we have really from around the world suggests the risk is really small.”
He says even transplant teams are requiring vaccines for those who are eligible.
“I tell families that the risk of covid itself is so much higher than the risk of myocarditis. And in my experience and in the literature, recovery from post-vaccination myocarditis is brisk, it’s fast," he said.
"In my experience so far, it has been universal. That’s not been our experience with COVID,” Dr. Boyle said.
Patients are more likely to have myocarditis following the second dose of the mRNA vaccine.
Watch Dr. Boyle explain why that happens.
He says if your child has fatigue and stomach pain within three to five days of getting vaccinated, get it checked out.