(Bethesda, Maryland) – A recent multicenter study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Pediatric Heart Network found that children and adolescents who received a COVID-19 vaccination following multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) – a rare complication of COVID-19 infection – were not found to be at increased risk of serious adverse reactions. The findings, published in January in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, demonstrate that it is safe to get a COVID-19 vaccine after having MIS-C.
MIS-C is a rare but serious condition that can occur weeks after a COVID-19 infection. Body parts, including the lungs and heart muscle (a condition called myocarditis), can become inflamed, causing a wide range of symptoms, including fever, stomach pain, vomiting and skin rash.
Valley Children’s Hospital was among the 22 medical centers in the United States and Canada who participated in the study, “Long-Term Outcomes After the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MUSIC),” the largest of its kind to examine COVID-19 vaccination in children and adolescents who received the vaccine following MIS-C.
Dr. Lerraughn Morgan, a board certified pediatric cardiologist with Valley Children’s Willson Heart Center, was a contributing author on the study.
“Parents and healthcare providers alike had many questions about MIS-C and COVID-19 vaccines,” Dr. Morgan said, “so the heart of this study was to answer the question about whether COVID-19 vaccination could potentially increase the risk of health problems in children who had recovered from MIS-C.”
The national study enrolled 385 patients aged 5 years and older who had recovered from MIS-C. Of the nearly half who had received one COVID-19 vaccine since their MIS-C diagnosis, only 49% reported mild adverse reactions (like a sore arm and fatigue). No serious adverse reactions were reported, including myocarditis or a recurrence of MIS-C.
The study’s findings affirm the CDC’s recommendation for children and adolescents who have had MIS-C get a COVID-19 vaccine at least 90 days after their diagnosis.
The study’s researchers, including Dr. Morgan, believe that the study provides sound scientific validation to the conversation about long-term complications of MIS-C and the value of the COVID-19 vaccine. “Families and healthcare professionals alike can be reassured by the study’s findings,” Dr. Morgan said. “The results not only support the CDC’s recommendation for children and adolescents who have had MIS-C to get a COVID-19 vaccine at least 90 days after their diagnosis, they affirm that it is safe to do so.”