Publication date: Jul 16, 2025
Clinical progression and medium-long term morbidity from myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations remains an important but undefined public health concern. We conducted prospective follow-up of individuals with either confirmed or probable myocarditis following monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 or Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccination between 21 April 2021 and 5 July 2022 in Australia. Of 256 individuals who consented to follow up, mostly males following a second dose, 60% (133/221) had ongoing symptoms at 3-6 months and 35% (81/231) at 12-18 months. Self-reported ongoing exercise restrictions, medication requirements, and hospital re-presentations were associated with ongoing symptoms, as was a lower self-reported health status and quality of life. Clinical severity remained mild, with low hospitalisation rates and no deaths in the follow-up period and health-related quality of life improved over time. These findings support ongoing use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in at-risk individuals to prevent disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Australia | Australia |
| Bnt162b2 | Clinical |
| July | Covid |
| Myocarditis | Follow |
| Vaccination | Individuals |
| Months | |
| Mrna | |
| Myocarditis | |
| Ongoing | |
| Reported | |
| Self | |
| Surveillance | |
| Symptoms | |
| Vaccination | |
| Vaccines |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | myocarditis |
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| disease | MESH | Clinical progression |
| disease | MESH | morbidity |
| disease | MESH | health status |
| disease | IDO | quality |
| pathway | REACTOME | SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| disease | MESH | dilated cardiomyopathy |
| pathway | KEGG | Dilated cardiomyopathy |
| disease | MESH | cardiac failure |
| disease | IDO | symptom |
| disease | MESH | anxiety |
| disease | MESH | depression |
| disease | MESH | chest pain |
| disease | IDO | history |