All of northern Europe is now saying it’s too dangerous to administer the Moderna covid vaccine to anyone under 30 years of age. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to Nordic countries limiting its use last week, by admitting risks.
Health officials in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland suspended the use of the Moderna vaccine for younger people due to a risk of side effects including myocarditis.
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Sweden said it would end the vaccine for people under the age of 30, and Denmark did the same for those under 18. Finland said that males under the age 30 shouldn’t receive the jab, while Icelandic officials added over the weekend that they are immediately suspending use of the shot.
The decisions came after extensive data revealed serious issues with the vaccine on younger people.
The FDA has apparently known of the data while it pushed for Americans under 18 to begin getting the vaccine.
“The FDA is aware of these data. At this time, FDA continues to find that the known and potential benefits of vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine,” an FDA official said in a statement to news outlets over the weekend in response to the Nordic nations’ decision to suspend the vaccine for certain age groups.
Moderna, meanwhile, said in a statement after the countries’ decision that it was “aware of the very rare occurrence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis following administration of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.”
On Oct. 10, Iceland’s Health Directorate said the Moderna vaccine would be entirely suspended due to the risk of cardiac inflammation.
The move was handed down due to “the increased incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination with the Moderna vaccine, as well as with vaccination using Pfizer/BioNTech,” its statement continued.
And in Sweden, the Swedish health agency added there is “an increased risk of side effects such as inflammation of the heart muscle or heart sac,” noting that the risk is “very small.”
–wire services