By Essi Lehto

HELSINKI, Reuters -Finland has halted Thursday’s use Moderna COVID-19 for males younger than 18 years old. There have been reports that it may cause a mild cardiovascular reaction. This is why the FDA has banned its use.

Mika Salminen (director of the Finnish healthcare institute) said that Finland would rather give Pfizer (NYSE:) The vaccine is available to all men who were born after 1991. Finland provides shots for people 12 years old and older.

He said that a Nordic study with Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland found that myocarditis was slightly more common in men younger than 30 years old who had received Moderna Spikevax.

On Wednesday, health officials in Sweden and Denmark had declared that the Moderna vaccination would be stopped for children under the age of 18. They also cited the same study.

Officials from Norway’s health department reiterated Wednesday their recommendation that men below the age of 30 choose Pfizer vaccine.

According to Finland’s Institute, the Nordic Study would publish within a few weeks. Preliminary data were sent to European Medicines Agency (EMA), for additional assessment.

According to the EMA safety committee, July was a rare month in which such inflammatory cardiac conditions might occur following Spikevax vaccination or BioNTech Comirnaty jab. However, younger men are more likely to experience them after receiving the second dose.

The World Health Organization, the EU and USA regulators have stressed the importance of shots that use mRNA technology to prevent COVID-19.

Moderna spokeswoman said that it had been made aware by regulators in Denmark and Sweden late Wednesday night.

These are usually mild cases, and people tend to heal quickly after receiving standard treatment and rest. People who are diagnosed with COVID-19 have a significantly increased risk of developing myocarditis. Therefore, vaccination is the best method to prevent this.

Roberto Speranza, Italy’s health minister, told reporters that Italy is not going to stop the Moderna vaccine. He also said European countries need to work closer together to better coordinate.

He stated that “We must trust international authorities,” starting with EMA, which is our agency of reference and has made very clear judgements about the matter.