The Health Ministry is currently investigating the case of a 12-year-old girl from Bnei Brak who unexpectedly died last Thursday after complaining of chest pain.

“A 12-year-old girl who recently recovered from post-COVID syndrome arrived at the pediatric emergency room on Wednesday, May 19,” reported Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center, which treated the child over the weekend. “She underwent prolonged resuscitation efforts by experienced doctors and, unfortunately, was pronounced dead. A report has been submitted, as usual, to the Department of Health.”

The girl contracted coronavirus in February and recovered. Shortly after, she was hospitalized for almost two weeks in hospital with pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 (PIMS-TS), which is similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock syndrome. . She was then released.

Zachi Grossman, president of the Israel Pediatric Association, said that “almost any virus” can lead to myocarditis but given the time lag between the virus and the child’s death, it is not known. whether his heart disease was caused by the virus or not.

More than 100 Israeli children have been diagnosed with PIMS-TS, according to Grossman.

He explained that little is known about post-and long-term COVIDs in children, as they are only just beginning to be discussed in the scientific literature. He said it is understood that COVID plagues between 13% and 15% of elementary and middle school children for a long time, but “there can also be a problem of underreporting, and sometimes underreporting gives the impression of low prevalence. However, when the reports are reviewed later, they may disclose things that were not initially reported. “

Most of the time, the symptoms of a long COVID are fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint and chest pain, difficulty concentrating (brain fog), depression, headache, intermittent fever and heart palpitations., According to the Centers for Disease Control.

A small percentage of people, mostly under the age of 30, who have received the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA coronavirus vaccines have suffered from myocarditis, according to reports from the Department of Health and CDC. However, as health officials examine the matter, they have not ruled out vaccination for this age cohort.

The disease often goes away without complications and has not been shown to be directly caused by the vaccine.

Grossman said that a special committee of the Ministry of Health is currently analyzing Israeli data to help the ministry make a final decision on whether to recommend the Pfizer vaccine to be inoculated to children between the ages of 12 and 15. The vaccine received emergency use clearance from the CDC last month.

A final decision is expected in a few days, Grossman said.