Clinical and Molecular Characterization of a Rare Case of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine-Associated Myositis
Eli Magen, Sumit Mukherjee, Mahua Bhattacharya, Rajesh Detroja, Eugene Merzon, Idan Blum, Alejandro Livoff, Mark Shlapobersky, Gideon Baum, Ran Talisman, Evgenia Cherniavsky, Amir Dori, Milana Frenkel‐Morgenstern
Abstract
Initial clinical trials and surveillance data have shown that the most commonly administered BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is effective and safe. However, several cases of mRNA vaccine-induced mild to moderate adverse events were recently reported. Here, we report a rare case of myositis after injection of the first dose of BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine into the left deltoid muscle of a 34-year-old, previously healthy woman who presented progressive proximal muscle weakness, progressive dysphagia, and dyspnea with respiratory failure. One month after vaccination, BNT162b2 vaccine mRNA expression was detected in a tissue biopsy of the right deltoid and quadriceps muscles. We propose this case as a rare example of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine-induced myositis. This study comprehensively characterizes the clinical and molecular features of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine-associated myositis in which the patient was severely affected.