Surveillance and follow up outcomes of myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in Australia
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.
Authors
- L. Thomas
- Nicholas Cox (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7442-2829)
- Michael D. Nissen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1686-3313)
- Michael R. Gold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1222-3191)
- Abigail Cheung
- Andrew Kelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2865-524X)
- Clara K Chow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4693-0038)
- Nathan Dwyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1583-8290)
- Claire Z. Larter
- Paul V. Effler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8890-4201)
- Lucy Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0066-2218)
- Jim Buttery (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9905-2035)
- Dominica Zentner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0437-1581)
- Rajesh Puranik
- Nicholas Wood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5909-7885)
- Gavin Wheaton
- S. Wahi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5180-2850)
- James M. Rankin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8482-0924)
- Shannon Melody (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6692-739X)
- Sarah Khanlari
- Pravin Hissaria (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-6312)
- Kristine Macartney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4675-0232)
- Sally Singleton
- Megan O'Moore
- Carla Drake-Brockman
- Amanda Van Eldik
Institutions
- South Australia Pathology (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- University of Tasmania (AU)
- New South Wales Department of Health (AU)
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (AU)
- Princess Margaret Hospital for Children (AU)
- Fiona Stanley Hospital (AU)
- Government of Western Australia Department of Health (AU)
- Princess Alexandra Hospital (AU)
- Children's Hospital at Westmead (AU)
- Royal Hobart Hospital (AU)
- Westmead Hospital (AU)
- Department of Health and Aged Care (AU)
- Women's and Children's Health Network (AU)
- Western Health (AU)
- Prince Charles Hospital (AU)
- Sydney Children's Hospital (AU)
- Westmead Institute (AU)
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute (AU)
- National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance (AU)
- Act Health (AU)
- Perth Children's Hospital
- The University of Adelaide (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Vaccines
- Published
- 2025-07-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01206-w
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Viral Infections and Immunology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.16