Myocarditis and pericarditis only occur after vaccination and not after COVID-19 infection, according to a recent preprint led by researchers at Oxford University, which compared health outcomes among COVID-vaccinated and unvaccinated children.
“Whilst rare, all myocarditis and pericarditis events during the study period occurred in vaccinated individuals,” the authors wrote. There were no deaths from myocarditis or pericarditis.
The study evaluated over 1 million English children aged 5 to 11 and adolescents aged 12 to 15. Vaccinated minors were compared to an equal number of unvaccinated, and children who took one dose were also compared to those who took two doses.