Sweden And Denmark Cancel Moderna Vaccine For Young Adults And Minors
On Wednesday, Sweden and Denmark announced they will stop using the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine for younger demographics due to reported adverse reactions.
Sweden will no longer give the Moderna vaccine to those born in or after 1991 (those 30 years old or younger). Denmark will cease giving the vaccine to anyone under 18. Denmark had already been using mostly the Pfizer vaccine for those younger than 18.
Both countries attribute their decision to the risk of rare possible adverse side effects, “such as myocarditis and pericarditis, which cause inflammation around the heart.”
The decision was founded on data from an unpublished Nordic study, yet to be reviewed by the European Medicines Agency. The Danish Health Authority said, "In the preliminary data...there is a suspicion of an increased risk of heart inflammation, when vaccinated with Moderna."
Sweden’s health agency said, “The connection is especially clear when it comes to Moderna's vaccine Spikevax, especially after the second dose.”
Geir Bukholm, the head of infection control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, recommended that men under the age of 30 should use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for minors in the U.S.