NEW DELHI: Several countries have suspended or delayed the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca following reports of blood clots in some people.
Thailand is the latest country to delay use of the UK vaccine after health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspended injections on Thursday.
Austria stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca injections while investigating a death from bleeding disorders and pulmonary embolism disease.
‘Blood clots’
Denmark first suspended injections for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who received an injection of AstraZeneca from the same batch used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died, Danish health authorities said.
His response was also prompted by reports “of possible serious side effects” from other European countries.
“Currently it is not possible to conclude if there is a link. We are acting early, it needs to be investigated thoroughly,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter.
Iceland suspended jabs with the vaccine on Thursday while awaiting the results of an EMA investigation. Italy, also on Thursday, said it would suspend the use of a different batch of AstraZeneca than the one used in Austria.
Four other countries – Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia – have stopped vaccines from the batch while investigations continue, the EMA said.
Little evidence
Some health experts said there was little evidence to suggest that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given and that the cases of blood clots matched the rate of such cases in the general population.
“The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine is the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence,” Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Reuters.
The European drug regulator EMA said the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks and that it could continue to be administered.
AstraZeneca told Reuters in a written statement that the safety of its vaccine had been extensively studied in human trials and peer-reviewed data confirmed that it was generally well tolerated.
Other experts have pointed out that of the millions of injections of the AstraZeneca vaccine given elsewhere, including in Britain, no cases have been reported of the vaccine causing blood clots or related problems.
Australia and Canada will continue to deploy
Meanwhile, Australia said on Friday that it will continue to roll out AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine as there was no evidence of a link to blood clots.
The Australian government said that while its pharmaceutical regulator was monitoring those cases, there would be no hiatus in the launch of the vaccine.
“We are going ahead with the vaccine, we are going ahead with the deployment,” Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack told reporters in Melbourne.
Canada also said the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe after Denmark and Norway temporarily suspended its use.
“Health Canada is aware of reports of adverse events in Europe following immunization with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, and would like to assure Canadians that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks,” the health department said. it’s a statement.
“At this time, there is no indication that the vaccine caused these events,” he said.
Mexico has also said that it will continue to apply doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Swedish authorities said they did not find sufficient evidence to stop vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Thailand is the latest country to delay use of the UK vaccine after health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspended injections on Thursday.
Austria stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca injections while investigating a death from bleeding disorders and pulmonary embolism disease.
‘Blood clots’
Denmark first suspended injections for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who received an injection of AstraZeneca from the same batch used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died, Danish health authorities said.
His response was also prompted by reports “of possible serious side effects” from other European countries.
“Currently it is not possible to conclude if there is a link. We are acting early, it needs to be investigated thoroughly,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter.
Iceland suspended jabs with the vaccine on Thursday while awaiting the results of an EMA investigation. Italy, also on Thursday, said it would suspend the use of a different batch of AstraZeneca than the one used in Austria.
Four other countries – Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia – have stopped vaccines from the batch while investigations continue, the EMA said.
Little evidence
Some health experts said there was little evidence to suggest that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given and that the cases of blood clots matched the rate of such cases in the general population.
“The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine is the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence,” Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Reuters.
The European drug regulator EMA said the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks and that it could continue to be administered.
AstraZeneca told Reuters in a written statement that the safety of its vaccine had been extensively studied in human trials and peer-reviewed data confirmed that it was generally well tolerated.
Other experts have pointed out that of the millions of injections of the AstraZeneca vaccine given elsewhere, including in Britain, no cases have been reported of the vaccine causing blood clots or related problems.
Australia and Canada will continue to deploy
Meanwhile, Australia said on Friday that it will continue to roll out AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine as there was no evidence of a link to blood clots.
The Australian government said that while its pharmaceutical regulator was monitoring those cases, there would be no hiatus in the launch of the vaccine.
“We are going ahead with the vaccine, we are going ahead with the deployment,” Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack told reporters in Melbourne.
Canada also said the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe after Denmark and Norway temporarily suspended its use.
“Health Canada is aware of reports of adverse events in Europe following immunization with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, and would like to assure Canadians that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks,” the health department said. it’s a statement.
“At this time, there is no indication that the vaccine caused these events,” he said.
Mexico has also said that it will continue to apply doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Swedish authorities said they did not find sufficient evidence to stop vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
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