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The number of countries suspending vaccines has risen sharply due to reports of blood clots in the hands of a handful of patients after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Most of these countries are European. They acknowledged that there was no evidence that the vaccine was the cause of the problem. Some experts say that it is not appropriate to make such a decision just because of theoretical concerns. This decision can be much worse than good.
Although very few vaccinators have problems with blood clotting, the number of countries discontinuing the estrogen vaccine is increasing. Last Tuesday, Sweden suspended its vaccination program against the coronavirus. Previously, Germany, Italy, France and Spain, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria and Iceland stopped the vaccine. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia suspended the program before it started. The vaccination program was also suspended in Thailand, but resumed on Tuesday.
On Monday (March 15), German Health Minister Jens Spahn said: “This decision was made today as a precautionary measure.” Not just Germany, but none of the countries that discontinued the vaccine have been able to provide evidence of blood clotting or any other problems with the vaccine.
Paul Ofit, a vaccine specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told Voice of America that it was a poor decision to stop effective vaccines in the midst of an epidemic out of a theoretical concern. “There is no room to speculate about the virus that is killing thousands of people every day,” he said. Criticizing the decision to hastily discontinue the vaccine, he said that taking the vaccine at all is not a conservative choice, it is a matter of radical choice.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the most widely used vaccines in the world. AstraZeneca is supplying some of the vaccines used by the Covax Alliance, led by the World Health Organization. The goal of the alliance is to eliminate inequality between high- and low-income countries in the receipt of vaccines. More than 40 countries have approved the vaccine. Health officials say their goal is to strike a balance between the importance and risks of vaccines in fighting the epidemic. Even if it is small, it is showing adverse effects.
Denmark was the first country to discontinue the AstraZeneca vaccine last week. The decision was announced after a 60-year-old woman died of a blood clot after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Danish health authorities said Thursday that it was not yet clear whether there was a link between the vaccine and blood clots.
“There is good evidence that the vaccine is safe and effective,” said Soren Brostom, director of the Danish Health Authority. However, both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have had to respond to possible serious side effects.
Austria suspended a shipment of the vaccine after another patient died of a blood clot 10 days after receiving the vaccine. Countless such incidents have been reported in some other countries.
Several countries, including Germany, France, and Italy, have discontinued the estrogen vaccine. They are awaiting a review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Union’s regulatory body for medicines.
Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization, told reporters on Monday (March 15) that blood clots are no more common in people who have been vaccinated than in people who have not been vaccinated. Blood clots form in the human body and people die every day from these incidents. The question is whether there is a link between the vaccine and those deaths.
A statement from AstraZeneca said that of the 18 million people who have been vaccinated in Europe and Britain, blood clotting rates are lowest.
Stephen Evans, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the coronavirus itself could cause blood clots or complications.
Swaminathan of the World Health Organization says that more than 2.7 million people worldwide have died from Kovid-19. Of the 300 million people who have received at least one dose of the vaccine, none have died from the vaccine. “Compare how much protection is being given to people against the disease that is killing millions of people and the risks that have been created,” he said.
The World Health Organization has recommended the vaccine. EMA has done the same.
The World Health Organization and the EMA will meet on Tuesday to consider the symptoms and decide if their recommendations need to be changed. Ofit thinks that even if they reaffirm that the vaccine is safe, it is still difficult to compensate for the damage caused. “You have terrified people. It will be difficult to overcome your fear. It is difficult to withdraw any information after it has spread to people. Afit said.
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