Moderna Vaccine Paused for Young People in Two European Countries

Health authorities in both countries announced that people under certain age cutoffs are now ineligible for the Spikevax COVID-19 shot due to its association with heart inflammation.

Chloe Tenn

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Update (November 10): Germany has joined other countries in recommending Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for people under 30, as research from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Germany’s vaccine authority, found rates of heart inflammation were higher after the Moderna vaccine than after Pfizer/BioNTech’s, reports Reuters.

Update (November 9): The French health advisory body Haute Autorite De Sante announced yesterday it recommends Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine for those under 30 years of age as a study found the risk for heart inflammation in this population is 5 times lower than for Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine, Reuters reports.

Update (October 15, 2021): According to Reuters, some countries are only administering one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in children and teenagers out of concern over possible rare cardiovascular side effects, which are more common after the second shot than the first. These include Norway, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

Update (October 11): ...

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Meet the Author

Chloe Tenn
Chloe Tenn is a graduate of North Carolina State University, where she studied neurobiology, English, and forensic science. Fascinated by the intersection of science and society, she has written for organizations such as NC Sea Grant and the Smithsonian. Chloe also works as a freelancer with AZoNetwork, where she ghostwrites content for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food, energy, and environmental companies. She recently completed her MSc Science Communication from the University of Manchester, where she researched how online communication impacts disease stigma. You can check out more of her work here.
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