The government recommended today (17th) that people under the age of 30 should get the Pfizer vaccine instead of Moderna for the COVID-19 vaccine.
This is the result of a deliberation by the Immunization Specialist Committee on the fact that Moderna vaccines have a higher risk of myocarditis and pericarditis than Pfizer, and that some European countries restrict Moderna vaccinations to children under the age of 30.
In a regular briefing today, the Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (promotional team) said, "Currently, there is no significant difference in the report rate of myocarditis and pericarditis between the two vaccines in Korea. "He said.
Europe approved the Moderna vaccine for adolescents in July, but due to the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis, some countries, such as Sweden, Finland, Germany and France, have restricted the vaccination of Moderna children under the age of 30.
The government recommended that people under the age of 30 who have not yet received the first dose receive their first and second doses with Pfizer vaccine, and those who have already received the first dose with Moderna vaccine should cross-inoculate with Pfizer for the second dose.
However, it is possible to inoculate with modder or vaccine after completing the basic inoculation.
In case of booster inoculation with Moderna vaccine, only 50 mg, which is half of the dose (100) used for basic inoculation, will be used.
Choi Eun-hwa, chairman of the Special Immunization Committee, said, "We considered that the amount of mRNA for the booster dose of the Moderna vaccine is half that of the basic dose, similar to the Pfizer vaccine (30 mg), and there is no evidence that the booster dose increases the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis." and explained.
The number of Moderna vaccinations from the start of the COVID-19 vaccination to the 6th of this month is 12.41 million, including 6.6 million for the first dose and 5.81 million for the second.
The number of vaccinations under the age of 30 was 2.87 million times (1st 1.55 million doses, 2nd 1.32 million doses).
Among them, a total of 37 people reported suspected myocarditis or pericarditis, or 1.29 cases per 100,000 people.
In the case of Pfizer, a total of 11.04 million doses were given to those under the age of 30, and a total of 152 reports of pericarditis and myocarditis were received.
That is 1.38 cases per 100,000 people.
Comparing the reported cases that were actually diagnosed as myocarditis and pericarditis, Moderna had 0.49 cases per 100,000 cases and Pfizer had 0.45 cases, indicating that Moderna had a slightly higher incidence of the disease.
In Germany and France, where the Moderna vaccine was previously restricted, the incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis with the Moderna vaccine under the age of 30 was significantly higher than that of the Pfizer vaccine.
In France, the incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis with the Pfizer vaccine was 2.67 per 100,000 cases, whereas the Moderna vaccine had 13.16 cases per 100,000, which is 4.9 times higher.
In accordance with this recommendation, the government will implement the basic vaccination with Pfizer vaccine for those under the age of 30.
AZ vaccination, meanwhile, ends at the end of December.
The promotion team said, "Recently, the rate of AZ vaccination has decreased significantly, so the average number of vaccinations is less than 1,000 per day." Considering the vaccine supply and demand plan, the first vaccination using the AZ vaccine should be done by the end of November and the second vaccination by the end of December. It will be implemented and phased out gradually,” he said.