Healthcare workers have a Moderna and Pfizer vaccine injector for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Vaccination Center in El Paso, Texas, May 6, 2021.
Jose Luis Gonzalez | Reuters
Finland, Denmark and Sweden have restricted use ModanaCovid-19 vaccine for young people over concerns about rare cardiovascular side effects.
THL, the Finnish national health authority, announced Thursday that it will suspend the use of Moderna’s Covid vaccine in young men. Provided to all men under the age of 30 Pfizer—BioNTech Instead, the vaccine, THL, said.
The THL decision, announced Wednesday by Swedish and Danish counterparts, both restricted the use of the Moderna vaccine in similar demographics.
In Sweden, the use of vaccines for people born after 1991 will be stopped, and Denmark will suspend Moderna shots for everyone under the age of 18.
What’s wrong?
The decisions made by the three countries to limit the use of the Moderna vaccine focus on concerns that it may be related to cases of myocarditis (a condition in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed). According to Reuters, all three health authorities cited unpublished Scandinavian studies sent to the European Medicines Agency for evaluation.
In most cases, people with myocarditis recover without complications, but in rare and more severe cases, they can damage the heart.
According to the Finnish THL, myocarditis was most likely to occur in young men and boys after receiving a second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
Talk in coronavirus At a press conference Thursday, THL’s head of health and security, Mika Salminen, said young men appear to be at higher risk with the Moderna vaccine.
“THL’s instructions should not give men and boys under the age of 30 the Modana vaccine for the time being, but instead use the Pfizer vaccine,” he said. Local media coverage..
In Finland, we offer Covid-19 vaccination to all people over the age of 12. Of the population eligible for vaccination in Finland, 84% receive the first vaccination and 72% receive the second vaccination.
Meanwhile, data suggest that Swedish health agencies had higher cases of myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of the outer layer of the heart) among immunized young people, Reuters said. Reported on Wednesday..
A moderna spokesperson was unable to get immediate comment when contacted by CNBC. “These are usually mild cases, and individuals tend to recover quickly after standard treatment and rest,” the company told Reuters.
“The risk of myocarditis in people infected with COVID-19 is significantly increased. Vaccination is the best way to prevent this,” a spokeswoman added.
Benefits and risks
Despite the risks associated with immunization in young men, THL’s salminen said Thursday that it remains important for all who are eligible to receive two doses of the vaccine.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the known risks of Covid-19 and its potentially serious complications far outweigh the potential for rare side effects to vaccination. This includes the potential risk of developing myocarditis.
In August, US study found Men between the ages of 12 and 17, the most likely to develop myocarditis, were six times more likely to have heart inflammation from a Covid-19 infection than to be vaccinated against the virus.
After the second dose of the vaccine, 67 cases of myocarditis occurred per million men of that age group. Studies have shown that after infection with the coronavirus, the incidence of myocarditis in that age group reached 450 per million.
in the meantime, research In March, Imperial College London found that half of the patients hospitalized for severe Covid had heart damage.
According to the US CDC, most cases of post-vaccination myocarditis occur after two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine in adolescent men and young adults. Symptoms such as chest pain, tension, shortness of breath, and palpitations usually occur within a few days of vaccination.
Nordic countries limit the use of Moderna’s Covid vaccine
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