JAKARTA – Sweden will stop using the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for citizens born in 1991 and over. The discontinuation came after reports emerged of the potential for rare side effects such as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).
The Swedish health agency said data showed an increase in myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart) among young and young adults receiving the vaccine.
“The relationship is very clear when associated with the Spikevax Moderna vaccine, especially after the second dose,” the health agency said in an official statement. Reuters via Antara, Thursday, October 6 evening.
The health agency said that instead it now recommends Pfizer/Biontech’s Comirnaty vaccine.
People born 1991 and older who received the first dose of Moderna, about 81,000 people, would not be given a second dose of the same vaccine, the institute said.
Earlier this week, Sweden’s health agency said people aged 12-15 would only get Pfizer/Biontech injections.
The European Drug Administration (EMA) in May approved the use of the Comirnaty vaccine, while the Spikevax vaccine in July allowed its use in children 12 years and older.
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