More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Ontario Public Health is reporting the first three cases of an inflammatory heart condition called myocarditis in people under the age of 18 after they received an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19.
It is part of a report issued today on Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFIs) for COVID-19 in Ontario.
There are no details about the cases but they are part of a growing international discussion about these conditions -- linked to both COVID-19 infections and more recently to mRNA vaccinations.
Both Israel and the U.S. have reported cases of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart, following vaccination in young adults usually between the ages of 15 and 19. More males are affected than females, according to recent reports.
Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is holding a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on June 18 to discuss the issue of whether there is some sort of link.
Doctors in Canada have been watching for any increase in cases of myocarditis in teens here, as well.
Dr. Brian McCrindle with the Canadian Pediatric Cardiovascular association says he is aware of cases under investigation in Ontario.
“Cases are being tracked to determine if this is a real thing or not,” said McCrindle.
He’s also been part of the international medical discussion on the questions surrounding the link with vaccination, and the outcome for the teens.
“So far all the reports we are hearing, the cases are mild… that it will be rare, and that 95 per cent will be managed as outpatients. We don’t expect they will have any adverse long-term outcomes,” said McCrindle.
Israel’s Health Ministry first reported a possible link to the condition in young men who received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Young males are more commonly affected than females, according early data from the U.S.
Information to date suggests these cases happen more often on the second dose. Israel is currently discussing limiting vaccination to a one-dose protocol for teens.
Myocarditis and pericarditis can be caused by a variety of common viruses. Symptoms can include a shortness of breath, chest pain, and malaise. Diagnosis is made with X-rays, echocardiograms and blood tests. In many cases, the inflammation will go away on its own.
Nationally, the Public Health Agency of Canada reports that 35 cases of myocarditis have been reported among teen and adults from across the country following a COVID-19 vaccination.
The Ontario report ads that “Canada is not currently seeing higher rates than would be expected in the general population,” and that “no clear association has been established between myocarditis/pericarditis and mRNA vaccines.”
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.