Overview
- Published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, the peer-reviewed study covers nearly all children in England from 2020 to 2022 using linked NHS data.
- Over six months, infection was tied to 2.24 additional myocarditis or pericarditis cases per 100,000 children, versus 0.85 per 100,000 after a first Pfizer–BioNTech dose.
- Risks after infection peaked in the first four weeks and for several conditions stayed elevated for up to 12 months, whereas the vaccine-related myocarditis/pericarditis risk was short-lived and returned to baseline after about four to six weeks.
- Researchers assessed rare outcomes including myocarditis, pericarditis, arterial and venous thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, and inflammatory syndromes such as PIMS and Kawasaki disease.
- Findings apply to first infections and first doses during 2020–2022 in England, so they may not generalize to reinfections, booster doses or later variants, though experts say the results support child vaccination strategies.