The European Medicines Agency reviews cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome

06/09/2021

The EMA's Safety Committee (PRAC) is assessing whether there is a risk of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) with COVID-19 vaccines, in light of a report of MIS following administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine. The case occurred in a 17-year old male in Denmark who has since fully recovered.

As of 19 August, a number of cases of MIS were also reported in the EEA following vaccination with other COVID-19 vaccines: five cases associated with the Comirnaty vaccine, one with Spikevax (Moderna), and one with the Janssen

vaccine.

MIS is a serious inflammatory condition affecting many parts of the body, and symptoms can include tiredness, persistent severe fever, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, headache, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome has previously been reported following COVID-19 disease. The Danish patient, however, had no history of COVID-19. MIS is rare and its incidence rate before the COVID-19 pandemic, estimated from 5 European countries, was around 2 to 6 cases per 100,000 per year in children and adolescents below 20 years of age, and less than 2 cases per 100,000 per year in adults aged 20 years and older.

At this stage, there is no change to the current EU recommendations for the use of COVID-19 vaccines. The PRAC recommends that all health professionals report any cases of MIS and other adverse events in people receiving these vaccines.

Source: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/meeting-highlights-pharmacovigilance-risk-assessment-committeeprac-30-august-2-september-2021

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