by Kylie Avery
Children who received the COVID-19 vaccine who had not previously been diagnosed with COVID infection are unlikely to be diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), according to a Lancet Child Adolescent Health survey.
The survey conducted from December 2020 through August 2021 found that out of 21,335,331 children ages 12-20 who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, only 21 reports met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) definition of MIS-C.
“We have been carefully monitoring the safety of the COVID vaccines in children, and receiving a COVID vaccine is highly protective against MIS-C and only very rarely associated with it. We are reassured by these results,” said Kathryn Edwards, MD, professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a contributing author of the article.
Data concludes that MIS-C after vaccination occurs in 1 in 1 million children, and among those without a known exposure to COVID or history of infection, it occurs in just 1 in 3 million.
“When rare, anecdotal cases of MIS-C in association with vaccine began to appear, we wanted to systematically evaluate the number of cases in the US. This study shows that MIS-C after vaccination is exceedingly rare. It provides even higher confidence in the safety of COVID vaccines in children,” said contributing author Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program.
The survey was completed using the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and the CDC’s Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Project. Investigators searched these databases for MIS-C cases consisting of fever, hospitalization with an illness, with multisystem organ involvement, laboratory evidence of inflammation, and one of the following: a positive, SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, viral antigen, or serology test, or recent exposure to a confirmed COVID-19 case.
“Studies like this highlight our commitment to vaccine safety. Our robust vaccine safety networks allow us to provide parents and providers with the information they need to make informed decisions about their health,” Creech said.