Young men who receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are at higher risk of developing a rare case of heart inflammation than those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to researchers
Researchers on Thursday October 21, revealed the data at a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) advisory committee to discuss approval of booster doses for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shot.
2A CDC official presented data that showed young men under the age of 30 who receive the Moderna vaccine have experienced a slight uptick in myocarditis and pericarditis cases.
This is the first data that shows an increased risk in one of the vaccines when compared to the other.
However, officials stand by the safety of the vaccine, and still recommend it for use as the benefits heavily outweigh the potential risks.
Currently, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden have restricted use of the Moderna jab among young people.
The CDC found that 36.8 out of every one million men aged 18 to 24 who received the Pfizer vaccine, and 10.8 of every one million aged 25 to 29, developed myocarditis.
Moderna recipients had higher rates of the condition, with 38.5 out of every one million males aged 18 to 24, and 17.2 of every million aged 25 to 29, developing the condition.
After age 29, the rate of heart inflammation as a vaccine side-effect significantly falls off.
Researchers at the CDC also calculated the total number of excess cases Moderna recipients suffered compared to Pfizer recipients.
They found that for every one million men aged 18 to 39 who received the Moderna vaccine, there were 21.5 more cases of myocarditis with pericarditis than there were in every one million who received the Pfizer jab.
For cases without pericarditis, there were 19.1 excess cases for every one million vaccine recipients.
The officials note that there was no difference in the severity of the myocarditis cases, though.
However, it was stated that the Moderna vaccine is still considered safe and effective despite this data as the cases are still few and far between with less than 0.01 percent of people who get the shot developing myocarditis.