Corona pandemic: Norway also suspends vaccines against AstraZeneca

Denmark initially discontinued vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine, now Norway is doing the same. The background for this is reports of blood clots after vaccination with the vaccine. The cases are being investigated.

After Denmark, Norway is also suspending vaccines with the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca vaccine for the time being due to possible side effects. This was announced by the Norwegian health institute FHI. It is not yet clear how long the outage will last in Norway.

After the report of a death in Denmark in connection with a blood clot after a vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine, one wanted to wait for information on whether there was a connection between the vaccine and the case, said the director of FHI responsible for infection control. , Geir Bukholm. at a press conference in Oslo.

Like the Danes before, the Norwegians made it clear that a connection between the vaccine and the case had not yet been established. However, as a precaution, vaccinations with the AstraZeneca agent are interrupted while testing is in progress, Bukholm said. However, this pause does not mean that vaccines with the AstraZeneca product will be discouraged in the future.

Denmark suspends vaccines for 14 days

Following reports of isolated serious side effects in vaccinated individuals, Denmark had previously discontinued the use of the AstraZeneca corona vaccine for 14 days as a precautionary measure. The reason for this is reports of severe cases of blood clots in people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, the Danish health administration said. These should now be examined more closely.

According to agency reports, Iceland is also said to have temporarily suspended vaccinations with the vaccine. Sweden, on the other hand, stated that it had no plans for such a move.

A few days earlier, Austria had discontinued vaccines with a batch of AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution after death and illness. They involved two nurses, one of whom died of complications from a severe bleeding disorder and the other suffered a severe pulmonary embolism. They had previously received vaccines from the same batch.

AstraZeneca initially acted cautiously upon request. One is aware of the Danish decision, a company spokesman said. “The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in phase III clinical trials, and peer-reviewed data confirm that the vaccine is generally well tolerated.”

EMA does not see increased risk

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the risk of blood clots is not increased with a corona vaccine. According to previous knowledge, “the number of thromboembolic events in vaccinated people is not higher than in the general population,” the EMA said at the request of the AFP news agency.

The Federal Ministry of Health initially saw no reason to stop vaccines against AstraZeneca in Germany. “As things currently stand, there is still no evidence that the death in Denmark is causally related to a corona vaccination,” a ministry spokesman said.

The Paul Ehrlich Institute examines the “situation”

The Paul Ehrlich Institute, responsible for vaccines, said it was in contact with the Danish Medicines Agency and the EMA and was investigating “the situation” in Germany. So far, the EMA has found in its research that the number of thromboembolisms is less than the number of vaccinations that would be expected.

SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach wrote on Twitter: “In my opinion, the vaccine should not have stopped because of a case in Denmark.” The damage to trust is immense. Thromboses (blood clots) are a common consequence of Covid-19. The AstraZeneca vaccine protects against this. He insists that the vaccine is safe. “I would take it at any time.”

AstraZeneca: approved in the EU since January

The British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been approved in the EU since January. In Germany and several other European countries, the vaccine developed with the University of Oxford was initially only approved for people under 65 years of age because reliable data on its effectiveness in older people were lacking. The vaccine is now recommended for older people as well.