Finland stopped the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for younger males after reports of a rare cardiovascular side effect, according to a report by Reuters on Thursday.
Mika Salminen, director of the Finnish health institute stated Finland would instead give Pfizer’s vaccine to men born in 1991 or later. Finland provides shots to people aged 12 and over.
Salminen further stated that a Nordic study involving Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark found out that men under the age of 30 who received Moderna Spikevax had a slightly higher risk than others of developing myocarditis.
Swedish and Danish health officials had disclosed on Wednesday that they would pause the use of the Moderna vaccine for all young adults and children, referencing the same unpublished study.
Norwegian health officials insisted on Wednesday that they would recommend men under the age of 30 to opt for Pfizer’s vaccine.
Regulators in the United States, EU, and the World Health Organization has emphasized that the benefits of shots depending on the mRNA technology used by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech in preventing COVID-19 outweigh risks.
