(Ads CDC director quote, data on age group vaccinated)
NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) has not found a link between heart
inflammation and COVID-19 vaccines, the agency's Director
Rochelle Walensky said on Tuesday.
"We have not seen a signal and we've actually looked
intentionally for the signal in the over 200 million doses we've
given," Walensky said in a press briefing.
She said the CDC is in touch with the U.S. Department of
Defense over its investigation of 14 cases of heart inflammation
or myocarditis among people who were vaccinated through the
military's health services.
"It is a different demographic than we normally see and we
will be working with DOD to understand what is happening in
those 14 cases," Walensky said.
The U.S. vaccination program targeted older Americans first,
and the concerns over myocarditis are in younger vaccinated
people. At least 17.9 million people in the United States under
the age of 30 have received one COVID-19 shot, according to CDC
data.
Israel's Health Ministry said on Sunday it was examining a
small number of cases of heart inflammation in people who had
received Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, though it had not
yet drawn any conclusions. Most of the cases in Israel were
reported among people up to age 30.
Pfizer has said it has not observed a higher rate of the
condition than would normally be expected in the general
population.
COVID-19 itself has been linked to cases of myocarditis in
some patients.
(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by David Gregorio and Bill
Berkrot)