Finland supports Sweden, other nations against Modernas Covid-19 shots | World news
Finland joined other Nordic countries in Europe, including Denmark, Sweden and Norway, to discourage the administration of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine to certain age groups.
Finland has joined other Nordic countries to suspend or discourage the use of the Mother’s COVID-19 vaccine in certain age groups due to an increased risk of heart inflammation, a rare side effect associated with the shot.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare said on Thursday that the authorities will not give the shot to men under 30 years of age. They will be offered the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine instead. The government body said it found that young men and boys were at a slightly higher risk of developing myocarditis.
The move from Finland followed similar decisions from three neighboring countries on Wednesday. Sweden suspended the use of Moderna for people under 30, Denmark said that those under 18 will not be offered the Swiss-made vaccine, and Norway urged those under 30 to obtain the Pfizer vaccine instead.
All four countries based their decision on an unpublished study with the Swedish Public Health Agency and said that it signals “an increased risk of side effects such as inflammation of the heart muscle or heart sac” – the double-walled sac that contains the heart and roots of the main vessels. It added: “The risk of being affected is very small.”
The preliminary information from the Nordic study has been sent to the European Medicines Agency’s adverse reaction committee for assessment.
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