Sweden and Denmark will discontinue the use of COVID-19 Moderna for younger people after reports of possible rare side effects, such as myocarditis, Reuters reports according to Mediafax.
The Swedish health agency has said it will stop using the vaccine for people born in 1991 and after, as data indicate an increase in cases of myocarditis and pericarditis among young people and young adults who have been vaccinated. These conditions involve an inflammation of the heart or mucous membranes.
“The connection is particularly clear when it comes to the Moderna Spikevax vaccine, especially after the second dose,” the health agency said in a statement, adding that the risk of being affected is very low.
Denmark said it had decided to discontinue the administration of the Moderna vaccine to people under the age of 18 according to a “precautionary principle”.
“Preliminary data suggest a risk of heart inflammation when vaccinated with Moderna,” the Danish health authority said in a statement.
Sweden and Denmark have said they now recommend the Pfizer / Biontech Comirnaty vaccine.
Norway is already recommending the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine to minors and said on Wednesday that it reiterates this, stressing that rare side effects could occur especially in boys and young men and mainly after the second dose.
“Men under the age of 30 should consider choosing the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine when vaccinating,” Geir Bukholm, head of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said in a statement.
Finland is also expected to issue a similar decision on Thursday.
