Pediatric Heart Health Risks and Benefits From COVID-19 Vaccinations

Dr. Elizabeth Profita, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at Stanford Children’s Health discusses how to weigh the risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in different age groups, with a focus on the risk of myocarditis and whether myocarditis rates are expected to rise as boosters are rolled out to younger groups.

Elizabeth L. Profita, MD, is a  pediatric cardiologist  at  Stanford Children’s Health  and clinical assistant professor in pediatrics – cardiology at  Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Profita received her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine, and completed her residency, fellowship and advanced fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology by the American Board of Pediatrics.  Within pediatric cardiology, Dr. Profita specializes in  pediatric cardiomyopathy,  heart failure,  heart transplant, and mechanical circulatory support. She leads the quality improvement team for heart transplant at  Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford  and is the senior fellowship director for advanced training in pediatric heart failure, transplant and mechanical circulatory support. Her research focuses on improving outcomes in pediatric heart transplant. Additionally, she has helped lead the management of COVID vaccine associated myocarditis cases at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, and she has given multiple talks on the effects of COVID on the heart and development of vaccine-associated myocarditis