Swedish health authorities on Wednesday suspended the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for those under 30, adding that they took the measure as a precaution.
The reasons for the pause are “indications of an increased risk of side effects, such as inflammation of the heart muscle or pericardium,” the double-walled sac that contains the heart and the source of the main vessels, explained the Health Agency. Swedish public in a statement. “The risk of being affected is very small.”
Sweden’s top epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, said authorities “are following the situation closely and will act quickly to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are always as safe as possible while providing effective protection” against the disease. .
In July, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended authorizing Moderna’s vaccine against COVID-19 for adolescents aged 12 to 17, the first time the injection has been authorized for people under the age of 18. years.
Moderna’s vaccine received the green light in January for use in anyone 18 years of age or older in the 27 countries of the European Union. It has also been licensed in countries such as Great Britain, Canada and the United States, but so far its use has not been extended to children. To date, the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved for children under 18 years of age in Europe and North America.
Hundreds of millions of doses of Moderna’s vaccine have already been given to adults. In a study of more than 3,700 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, the vaccine triggered the same signs of immune protection and COVID-19 diagnoses did not arise in the vaccinated group compared to four cases among those who received sham injections.
The most common side effects in young people who received the vaccine were arm pain, headache, and fatigue, the same as in adults.
US and European regulatory authorities, however, have warned that both Moderna’s and Pfizer’s vaccines appear to be linked to a rare reaction in adolescents and young adults: chest pain and heart inflammation.
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