The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has said more time is needed to evaluate the risk of myocarditis after vaccination, and that assessment for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) may not be completed before January 2022.
An increased risk of myocarditis has been described for COVID-19 vaccines, including the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, particularly in young men and following the second dose. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have stated that myocarditis following vaccination with mRNA vaccines has been rare and generally mild.
It is estimated that over 1.5 million adolescents have received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Moderna press release. To date, the observed rate of myocarditis reports in those less than 18 years of age in Moderna’s global safety database does not suggest an increased risk of myocarditis in this population. Moderna is committed to conducting its own careful review of new external analyses as they become available. The Company does not yet have access to data from some recent international analyses.
Moderna executives say they will delay filing a request for EUA of mRNA-1273 at the 50 µg dose level in the pediatric population (6-11 years of age) while the FDA completes its review of the adolescent EUA request.
