<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Children who catch </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/covid-19" rel="" target="" title="COVID-19"><span>COVID-19</span></a><span> are at risk of contracting dangerous heart inflammation, but don't face the same danger from getting vaccinated against the virus, a new, large-scale study has found.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The report in </span><em><span>The Lancet Child &amp; Adolescent Health</span></em><span> examined the health records of nearly every child in the United Kingdom between 2020 and 2022 – almost 14 million under-18-year-olds.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It found there was a small but still significant risk of children developing serious heart conditions like myocarditis or pericarditis in the six months after catching COVID-19.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/skincare-products-pulled-from-shelves-over-banned-ingredient/09a8de53-14bc-4425-aefb-54ac1c8c0e92"><strong><span>Aussie skincare products pulled from shelves over banned ingredient</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, the authors found the risk of rare heart complications after receiving the Pfizer vaccine for the virus was "substantially lower".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The risk is still there after vaccination, but it is around half of the risk faced due to acute infection with the disease itself," paediatrician Dr Michelle Scoullar from the Burnet Institute said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We know that repeated infection with COVID-19 is common for children, and this study has added to the evidence that these acute infections are putting their health at risk, this study shows that vaccination substantially decreases this risk, even in those who get a mild infection. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/health/covid-19-vaccines-lower-heart-inflammation-risk-infection/76689039-9ecf-434a-9abb-dd25c2107b5f" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That's an important reassurance for parents weighing up the benefits and risks."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Professor Raina MacIntyre, an emerging infectious disease expert at the University of NSW, said the research only further emphasised that mRNA vaccines are safe to use.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-exported-20-years-worth-of-gas-in-five-years-while-facing-domestic-shortages/d00d6ee5-64dd-4a98-ae9d-7b9ef6708be9"><strong><span>Australia exported two decades' worth of gas in five years as prices surged</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This study confirms what many other studies have shown - that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are safe and effective in reducing the risks of serious complications of COVID infection," she said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"No vaccine or drug is 100 per cent safe, as all have side effects, but they go through a rigorous process to ensure that the benefits far outweigh the risks. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This study and other studies show the risk-benefit clearly favours vaccines for children. The risk of myocarditis is low – 1-3 per 100,000 children. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There is a much higher risk of myocarditis after COVID infection… the COVID mRNA vaccines are actually protective of the heart, because of the enormous damage the infection can cause to the heart."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In Australia, COVID-19 vaccinations aren't recommended for children unless they are immunocompromised or have risk factors that increase their chance of contracting severe illness after infection.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/health/australia-food-safety-myths/d9015c1d-d60a-45b2-98ff-9a747307e476"><strong><span>Experts bust common food myths, including one that half of all Aussies believe</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But following the study, MacIntyre said health authorities should change their stance.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That we deny vaccination to children is inexplicable… our children are not eligible for vaccination at all, and vaccination is not even recommended wholeheartedly even for young adults," she said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Long COVID is another crippling impact on everyone, especially kids and working-age adults… I hope this study will inform vaccine policy for children."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mater Health Services director of infectious diseases Professor Paul Griffin agreed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children remain controversial, due to many different and conflicting positions regarding the need to vaccinate particularly children with no associated risk factors," he said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"While more severe disease from COVID-19 infection is known to be more associated with advanced age and comorbidities, this study provides further evidence both of the significant complications of COVID-19 infection in children and the relative safety of the vaccines that therefore could, or perhaps should, be more widely recommended to reduce these risks."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Please note the information in this story is general in nature. Please always consult your GP or health professional for advice that is tailored to your specific health concerns.</span></em></div></div>