UPMC recommends COVID-19 vaccine amid myocarditis cases
Courtesy of Karen Franks
Alex Franks was treated for heart inflammation and released from UPMC-Presbyterian hospital a day later.
Courtesy of Karen Franks
Alex Franks has since recovered, although he will return to UPMC for an MRI to make sure there is no lasting damage from the myocarditis.
As more and more more teens and young adults receive the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, some parents are questioning whether myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, may be linked to the vaccine.
The issue came to light after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is investigating a few dozen cases to see if there is a link between the youths who have been diagnosed with the heart condition after they received the vaccine, or if the cases are a coincidence.
Locally, a 17-year-old Trinity High School student, Alex Franks, developed myocarditis after getting his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We’re not anti-vaxxers at all, and we don’t want to deter people from getting the vaccine because it’s very important,” said Alex’s mother, Karen Franks. “The only reason we’re sharing his story is to let parents know that if their child has this reaction to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.”
The Franks family is planning to take a beach vacation outside of the country in June, so they wanted everyone to be vaccinated.
Karen Franks said her son started complaining of severe chest pain about two days after his second dose, which he received on May 4.
About midnight on May 6, after playing video games with friends, Alex told his parents he felt tightness in his chest as he walked two flights of stairs to his bedroom.
About 10 minutes later, he walked into his parents’ bedroom and told them something was wrong.
They drove him to Washington Health System Washington Hospital, where blood tests and a CAT scan revealed his heart was inflamed, and later he was transported to UPMC-Presbyterian hospital.
There, he was treated for heart inflammation and released a day later.
Franks has since recovered, although he will return to UPMC for an MRI to make sure there is no lasting damage from the myocarditis.
Dr. John Williams, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, said there may not be a link between myocarditis and the vaccine, as the condition is seen in children without the vaccine.
“Myocarditis is often associated with a number of common viruses that cause colds and intestinal infections,” said Williams. “We think the inflammation of the heart is a ‘bystander injury,’ meaning the child has an infection, the immune system is activated, which then causes irritation or inflammation of the heart. The prognosis in children with myocarditis is usually good.”
UPMC, along with the CDC and the American Heart Association, are strongly recommending that children 12 years old and older receive the COVID-19 vaccine, noting the risks from the virus still far outweigh the possible heart complications.
“Experts are looking very closely to see if myocarditis could be related to the vaccine,” explained Williams. “We see myocarditis in otherwise healthy children with common viruses, and it’s not clear if these cases are more than what we would normally see.”
According to Williams, over 4 million teenagers in the U.S. have received the Pfizer vaccine safely, compared to the 15,000 COVID-related pediatric hospitalizations and more than 300 pediatric deaths.
In addition to protecting children from the possible complications of COVID-19, Williams stressed that vaccinating children is “a step in preventing the spread of the virus to those who are most vulnerable, and the best way to get kids back to school and parents back to work.”