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Thailand has joined several European nations in suspending the AstraZeneca vaccine for fear of blood clots, despite several health authorities around the world insisting that it is safe.
The decision led to the embarrassing spectacle of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha abruptly canceling his own televised jab.
“Injecting the vaccine for Thais should be safe, we don’t have to be in a rush,” said an adviser to the country’s Covid-19 vaccination committee.
The move came just hours after US President Joe Biden offered Americans hope of returning to some kind of normalcy by July 4, marking the national holiday as his goal of “independence” from the virus. .
Yesterday, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Italy and Romania postponed or limited the launch of their quota of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccines after isolated reports of recipients developing blood clots.
Health regulators stressed that there was no evidence of any link, but they were acting very cautiously.
However, Australia, Mexico and the Philippines said they would continue their launches as they had found no reason to alter course. Canada said there is no evidence that jab causes adverse reactions.
Both the manufacturer and the European Medicines Agency insisted that the vaccine was safe.
The EMA said that the information available so far indicated that the risk of blood clots in those vaccinated against the coronavirus “was not greater than that observed in the general population.”
He also said that European countries could continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine while the issue is investigated, concluding that “the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks.”
Bulgaria said it is stopping inoculations with the AstraZeneca vaccine until the EMA sends a written statement that dispels all doubts about the safety of the vaccine, the government said in a statement.
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The UK has called the jab “safe and effective”.
“When people are asked to come forward and take it, they should do so in confidence,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman.
French Health Minister Olivier Veran said “it was not necessary” to suspend the use of the vaccine.
Gavi, who co-leads the Covax program to ensure vaccines are equitably distributed globally, said he would look forward to hearing what the World Health Organization has to say.
After falling behind in its immunization effort, the EU is now fighting hard to accelerate its vaccine push.
He has targeted AstraZeneca, whose shares plunged more than 2.5% on the London Stock Exchange over concerns about the vaccine, for censuring it for failing to deliver on delivery promises.
The head of the EU coronavirus vaccine supply task force said the company’s production pace was “not good enough” to meet its obligations during the first quarter of the year, the latest in a bitter dispute. between the 27-nation bloc and the company. .
“AstraZeneca Vaccine Delivery – I see efforts, but not ‘best efforts’,” Thierry Breton wrote on Twitter.
The EU approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine yesterday, which is stored at higher temperatures than the competition and is easier to distribute.
Despite the slow rollout across the bloc, Greece said it aims to reopen for tourists in mid-May due to the acceleration of its own program.
In another boost for vaccine hopes, a real-world study in Israel showed that Pfizer / BioNTech hits are 97% effective against symptomatic Covid cases, more than originally thought.
Since it first emerged in China in late 2019, the coronavirus has infected more than 118 million people, and few parts of the world have remained intact.
Countries have disputed the most effective vaccines and sufficient doses to inoculate their populations, in some cases many times.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres lashed out at what he called “the many examples of nationalism and vaccine hoarding” that will prevent some countries from obtaining the resources to end their health crises.
“Many low-income countries have not yet received a single dose,” he said.
“The global vaccination campaign represents the greatest moral test of our time.”
Sanofi and Translate Bio launch a human trial of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine
Sanofi and TranslateBio said they had begun a human trial of their Covid-19 mRNA vaccine candidate, the French drugmaker’s second vaccine project, following a protein-based injection that was delayed last year.
It is the latest candidate vaccine based on a new technology known as messenger RNA. The Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna injections were launched after clinical trials showed high efficacy rates.
Real-world data from Pfizer’s launch in Israel and Britain has also been encouraging.
Sanofi and Translate Bio expect interim results from the phase I / II study, which will enroll 415 healthy adults at 13 sites, during the third trimester.
Participants will receive a single dose of the vaccine or two doses 21 days apart, while three dose levels will be tested, the companies said.
Sanofi did not give further indications on the project schedule.
Last month, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline launched a new clinical trial of a Covid-19 protein-based candidate vaccine in a bid to jump-start their efforts against the pandemic after a setback in December delayed the launch of the vaccine.
To appease critics after the delay, Sanofi said earlier this year that it agreed to fill and package millions of doses of vaccines made by Pfizer / BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson.
Global coronavirus infections have exceeded 118 million.
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