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The government awaits an early decision that will give the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine the go-ahead to allow it to deliver 818,000 planned doses of the jab that are crucial to breaking out of the lockdown.
The decision to suspend use of the vaccine here this week as a precautionary measure while European regulators investigate reports of blood clots associated with the jab is the latest setback.
Around 30,000 healthcare workers and people with very high levels of Covid-19 will lose out as their vaccines planned for next week are suspended.
Ireland is pinning its hopes that more than 800,000 doses of AstraZeneca will arrive here from April to June as part of the vaccine surge to clear the way for the lifting of restrictions this summer.
The alert came after four people suffered unusual blood clotting events in Norway after receiving the vaccine, but there is no evidence that the jab caused the illnesses.
Around 117,000 people have received the vaccine here, mostly healthcare workers and some people with underlying illnesses.
The Health Products Regulatory Authority, which controls drugs here, said it received a “small number” of reports associated with blood clots after vaccination with the AstraZeneca jab, but none like those described in Norway.
Professor Karina Butler of the National Immunization Advisory Committee said that a decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the safety of the vaccine is due to be made by the end of this week.
She said: “This is a precautionary measure. We will continue to monitor the situation and if we can be satisfied that these events are coincidental and not caused by this vaccine, we will reassess the situation. ”
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: “Of course it will be very disappointing for people not to get their jab this week and I acknowledge and regret it.
“I hope you are comforted by the fact that clinical council is erring on the side of caution while investigating this issue. I’d be happy to hear that this is clinically targeted. “
GPs were given advice yesterday and asked to tell patients who received the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to seek medical help if they feel unwell more than three days after receiving the vaccine.
Three Norwegian healthcare workers who had recently received the AstraZeneca vaccine are being treated in hospital for bleeding, blood clots and a low blood platelet count.
Authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspended use of the vaccine for clotting problems, while Austria stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca injections last week while a death from bleeding disorders was investigated.
The EMA, in a preliminary report, said there was no indication that the events were caused by vaccination, but that it will carry out further investigation and deliver the findings later this week.
As of March 10, 30 cases of blood clotting events were reported in the EMA database of nearly five million people in the EU who received the vaccine.
In a statement last night, AstraZeneca said that “the available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause” of blood clotting.
“So far in the EU and UK, there have been 15 DVT (deep vein thrombosis) events and 22 pulmonary embolism events among those who received the vaccine, based on the number of cases the company has received as of March 8. .
“This is much lower than what would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar in other licensed Covid-19 vaccines.”
Canceling appointments this week will be a disappointment for people with underlying illnesses who are at serious risk if they contract Covid-19.
Philip Watt from Cystic Fibrosis Ireland called for clearer communication from HSE around vaccinating about 1,000 people with CF.
An HSE spokesperson said that the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine will not affect the launch of the vaccine to those over 70 who are receiving the Pifzer and Moderna injections.
There are about 160,000 people at very high risk, but as of last Wednesday only 627 of them had been vaccinated, although the goal for last week was 10,000.
It comes amid mounting concerns around another spike in Covid-19 cases that could delay the scope of the reopening next month. Some 384 new cases were reported yesterdayY.
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