Finland, among other Nordic countries, are suspending or discouraging the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in certain age groups because of a rare side effect of increased risk of heart inflammation. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare announced on Thursday that males under age 30 will not receive the Moderna vaccine and will be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine instead. The government cited resources that young men and boys were at a slightly higher risk of developing myocarditis after receiving the Moderna vaccine.
Sweden, Denmark and Norway made similar decisions on Wednesday. Sweden suspended the Moderna vaccine for all people under 30, Denmark will not offer the Moderna vaccine to anyone under 18 and Norway is encouraging people under 30 to get the Pfizer vaccine. The countries cited an unpublished study with Sweden’s Public Health Agency and said the risk of being affected by the side effect is very small. The European Medicines Agency’s adverse reaction committee will assess the report from the Swedish study.
Read more: Finland joins other Nordic nations in curbing Moderna shots
