Sweden and Denmark stop Moderna vaccines use for younger age groups due to heart problems



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Sweden and Denmark announced on Wednesday that they would suspend use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for younger age groups after reports of possible rare side effects, such as myocarditis.

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The Swedish health agency said it would discontinue use of the vaccine for people born in 1991 and later because data indicated an increase in myocarditis and pericarditis in young people and young adults who were vaccinated. These conditions involve inflammation of the heart or its lining.

“The link is particularly clear when it comes to Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine, especially after the second dose,” the health agency said in a statement, adding that the risk of being affected was very low.

This file photo from June 14, 2021 shows a vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine that is administered to Japan Airlines flight attendants at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. (AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko / AP Newsroom)

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Denmark said that while it was already using the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine as a primary option for people aged 12 to 17, it decided to take a break, giving the Moderna vaccine to people under the age of 18. according to a “precautionary principle”.

“In preliminary data, there is a suspicion of an increased risk of heart inflammation, when vaccinated with Moderna,” the Danish health authority said in a statement.

He referred to data from an as yet unpublished Nordic study, which would now be sent to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for further assessment. Final data was expected within a month, he added.

Sweden and Denmark said they now recommend the Commirnaty vaccine, from Pfizer / Biontech, instead.

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Norway already recommends the Cominarty vaccine to minors and said on Wednesday it is repeating it, stressing that rare side effects could occur especially in boys and young men, and mainly after receiving a second dose.

“Men under 30 should also consider choosing Cominarty when getting vaccinated,” Geir Bukholm, infection control manager at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said in a statement.

A Finnish health official said Finland expected to release a decision on Thursday.

The EMA approved the use of Comirnaty in May, while Spikevax was given the green light for children over 12 in July.

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