France and Germany are the latest European countries to issue warnings about the Moderna (MRNA) COVID vaccine for people under the age of 30 because of a “very rare” risk linked to myocarditis or heart inflammation.

France's public health authority published its recommendation on Monday, saying “within the population aged under 30, this risk appears to be around five times lesser with Pfizer's Comirnaty jab compared to Moderna's Spikevax jab,” Reuters reported.

Germany issued its warning for citizens on Wednesday after its vaccine advisory committee, STIKO, received new safety data from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Reuters said.

"For people above the age of 30 there is no higher risk," STIKO said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Both countries recommended that people under the age of 30 receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine even if their first dose was from Moderna, the news outlet reported.

The news comes after health officials in Denmark, Finland and Sweden have also warned against the risks of the Moderna vaccine due to heart-related issues in younger people.

France issued its warning to residents under 30 after a French study published on Monday showed risks linked to myocarditis, Reuters said.

The European Union’s drug regulator, EMA, has approved the Moderna booster vaccine for all people over the age of 18 at least six months after their second dose of the shot.

The EMA has previously said that while it has found a possible link to myocarditis and the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, the benefits of the COVID shots outweigh the risks of the shots, according to Reuters.

The World Health Organization and U.S. health authorities have expressed similar views on the vaccines despite the “very rare” heart disease risk.

As of Wednesday premarket hours, shares of Moderna were trading at $231.20, down $5.65, or 2.39%.

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A COVID-19 vaccine is pictured AFP / Angela Weiss
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