--- title: What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and Heart Conditions description: Experts say mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines have a "likely association" with heart inflammation, particularly among boys and young men. canonical: https://time.com/6075691/covid-19-vaccines-heart-problems/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-06-25T10:00:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T10:03:50.704Z article:section: Health og:title: What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and Heart Conditions og:description: The rare side effect seems to affect boys and young men og:url: https://time.com/6075691/covid-19-vaccines-heart-problems/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and Heart Conditions twitter:description: The rare side effect seems to affect boys and young men twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and Heart Conditions in Younger People > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=7d7d53a8-f022-4e17-9fb8-d491cc3deb86&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jun 25, 2021 10:00 AM UTC  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jun 25, 2021 10:00 AM UTC On June 23, a group of scientists [told](https://www.statnews.com/2021/06/23/officials-note-likely-association-between-covid-19-vaccines-and-rare-heart-condition-in-young-people/) the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that [mRNA vaccines](https://time.com/5927342/mrna-covid-vaccine/) (those made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) have a “likely association” with heart risks for younger people. Understandably, that’s still generating a lot of attention. Here’s what you should know about COVID-19 vaccines and heart problems. ## The heart issues in question are called myocarditis and pericarditis Those refer, respectively, to inflammation of the heart and the lining around it. While they sound scary, both tend to clear up on their own or with minimal treatment, particularly if caught early. They can come with symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue and abnormal heart rhythms, and can be caused by viruses and bacteria. ## **They are a very rare vaccine side effect** Since April, about 1,000 cases have been reported among people who got vaccinated with mRNA-based shots, the [CDC says](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/myocarditis.html). That might sound like a lot, but, for context, more than 300 million mRNA vaccine doses [have been ](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations)[administered](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations) so far in the U.S. A [statement](https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/06/23/statement-following-cdc-acip-meeting-nations-leading-doctors-nurses-public-health-leaders-benefits-vaccination.html) signed by influential physicians including CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky notes that myocarditis and pericarditis are far more common among people who catch COVID-19 than among people who get the vaccine. ## **Certain groups seem to be at higher risk** Adolescent boys and young men seem to develop [these side effects](https://time.com/5957222/covid-vaccine-side-effects/) more often than other groups, according to the CDC, and it is more common after a second shot. [In general](https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/myocarditis/)—that is, separate from COVID-19 side effects—men are more likely than women to develop heart inflammation, and it is commonly diagnosed among younger adults. ## **Experts still recommend vaccination** Given the known benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, physicians still recommend the shots for people of all ages. “It is the best way to protect yourself, your loved ones, your community, and to return to a more normal lifestyle safely and quickly,” the group of physicians urged in their joint statement. _This story originally ran in TIME’s Coronavirus Brief newsletter._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6075691/covid-19-vaccines-heart-problems/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6075691/covid-19-vaccines-heart-problems/"},"headline":"What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and Heart Conditions in Younger People","datePublished":"2021-06-25T10:00:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T10:03:50.704Z","description":"Experts say mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines have a \"likely association\" with heart inflammation, particularly among boys and young men.","url":"https://time.com/6075691/covid-19-vaccines-heart-problems/","keywords":["COVID-19"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6075691/covid-19-vaccines-heart-problems/","name":"What to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines and Heart Conditions in Younger People"}}]}] ```