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MONDAY, Aug. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials have some reassuring news about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in young people: Among millions of U.S. teens who've received Pfizer's shots, serious side effects have been rare.As of July 16, close to 9 million teens, aged 12 to 17, had received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — the only one okayed for that age group. Among roughly 9,240 reported side effects, 91% were minor, such as soreness near the vaccination site. But 9% were serious, with 4% developing a heart problem known as myocarditis, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday."Local and systemic reactions are common among adolescents following Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, especially after the second dose; however, serious adverse events...

MONDAY, Aug. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- All pregnant women should be vaccinated "without delay" against COVID-19, two leading groups of U.S. obstetric specialists recommend.That advice — from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) — is based on tens of thousands of cases over the past several months showing that vaccination during pregnancy is safe."ACOG encourages its members to enthusiastically recommend vaccination to their patients. This means emphasizing the known safety of the vaccines and the increased risk of severe complications associated with COVID-19 infection, including death, during pregnancy," said Dr. J. Martin Tucker, ACOG president. "It is clear that pregnant people need to feel confident...

MONDAY, Aug. 2, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- A first heart attack is a serious, life-changing event, although most people now survive them. But a new study underscores the importance of doing everything possible to avoid another one."It's like taking another hit," said Dr. Umesh Khot, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. "One heart attack is a lot, and having another one is a big hit on the heart."Khot is lead author of a study that examined the outcomes of patients who suffered a second heart attack – formally known as recurrent myocardial infarction – within 90 days of being discharged from the hospital after the first heart attack. The study was published Aug. 2 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.Khot's team examined the data from 6,626...

MONDAY, Aug. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A rise in cases of a common childhood disease called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is unfolding just as coronavirus infections are increasing among children.RSV is a highly contagious, flu-like illness that causes symptoms such as runny nose, coughing, sneezing and fever, and is more likely to affect children and older adults, The New York Times reported.There's been a rise in RSV cases since early June, with a notable spike in the past month, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.The sudden increase in cases is unusual because RSV typically begins to spread in the fall, the Times reported. Even more troubling, more children are showing up in hospitals with COVID-19 as the highly contagious Delta variant takes over the...