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CDC to meet to investigate heart inflammation in small number of teens who received vaccine

METRO ATLANTA, Ga — Tens of millions of people have been vaccinated nationwide, and the CDC is encouraged by the outcome so far.

However, the CDC plans to meet later this month to discuss a small number of teens getting heart inflammation after the second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine.

About 226 cases of heart inflammation have been identified, mostly in teen boys and some young men, and its very rare according to the CDC but its something they want to evaluate.

Ted Ross, director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunity at UGA, told Channel 2′s Carol Sbarge that this is not unusual.

“When a big product rolls out like this, there’s always looking at the most adverse events that occur and often you can’t see those events until millions of people have been vaccinated or given the vaccine,” Ross said.

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Tasnim Mosabber, a Gwinnett County resident, was vaccinated earlier and got her 12-year-old son vaccinated this week and she is glad he got it.

“It’s a huge relief not having to worry about not only endangering the health of my loved ones, especially the ones who are more at risk than me,” Mosabber said.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been going into the arms of Georgians for about six months now and early studies showing effective and safe results.

The FDA gave them emergency use authorization and expect full approval to happen sometime this year, according to Ross.

“The FDA will take all the real data that is coming off all the real people, that is coming off all the people that have been vaccinated in various trials that are now being followed up for people who’ve already been vaccinated,” Ross said.

The CDC will have the emergency meeting on the heart inflammation data on June 18 and they expect emergency use authorization for children under the age of 12 soon.