Israel reports first case of Heart Inflammation from Omicron variant: a “worrying development”

A healthy 43-yr-old male patient with coronavirus who had been twice vaccinated and had no other illnesses was found to have inflammation of the heart muscle. He’s being treated at Tel Hashomer in the intensive care unit.

Israeli doctors detected the first case of myocarditis caused by the Omicron coronavirus strain.

Doctors at Tel Hashomer’s Sheba Medical Center told Channel 12 news that a 43-year-old male was hospitalized in their coronavirus ward and was being treated for myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle.)

“This is the first time we have seen this with Omicron,” said Prof. Shlomi Matetzky, a cardiology expert at the hospital, adding that this was “a worrying development that we need to think about.”

“We are keeping a close watch on the patient, who is currently in intensive care,” he said.

Previous strains of the virus were known to cause myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart). In very rare circumstances, diseases caused by vaccinations based on mRNA technology have been reported, notably in younger men.

According to the hospital, the individual last received a vaccine in August, when he received a booster shot. He was in perfect health and did not have any underlying health issues.

Omicron infections are on the rise in Israel, and health officials are hopeful that this wave will be milder and result in fewer hospitalizations than prior ones.

Despite the fact that there are 17,521 new cases reported each day, New cases fell somewhat from Friday’s record 18,831 but test positivity rates rose to levels not seen in more than a year.

The number of serious COVID-19 cases reported on Sunday was nearly double the 112 instances reported a week ago. The number of hospitalizations increased from 338 to 524 in a week.

The 11.71 percent positivity rate was the highest since October 2020, however it came as Israel began accepting less-accurate fast antigen tests, saving the more accurate PCR tests for over-60s and the unvaccinated, in order to alleviate crowding at testing sites.

According to data published by Israel’s Health Ministry on Sunday, 6,621,321 people have received at least one vaccine shot. A total of 5,963,196 people have received a second shot and 4,322,783 have received a booster.

Last Monday, Israel became the first government in the world to distribute extra fourth-shot boosters to seniors and health personnel. The second booster had been distributed to 254,000 persons as of Saturday.

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