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AGI – Aifa has decided to extend the ban on the use of the AstraZeneca Covid19 vaccine “throughout the national territory”, “as a precaution and temporarily, pending the pronouncements of the EMA”.
This decision, the Agency explains, “was made in line with similar measures taken by other European countries. More research is currently being carried out. “Aifa,” in coordination with the EMA and the rest of the European countries, will jointly evaluate all the events that have been reported after vaccination. “
Finally, the Medicines Agency “will promptly release any additional information that may be available, including other methods to complete the vaccination cycle for those who have already received the first dose.”
Government: “Precautionary decision”
The decision to suspend the administration of the Astrazeneca vaccine by Aifa was taken “for exclusively precautionary reasons,” explain sources from the Ministry of Health. Aifa’s decision was preceded by an interview between Prime Minister Draghi and Minister Speranza. The latter also held talks today with the Health Ministers of France, Germany and Spain.
The investigation of the Public Ministry of Biella
The EMA’s decision came just hours after chand the Public Ministry of Biella had ordered the preventive seizure of the entire national territory of lot ABV5811 of the AstraZeneca vaccine, to which the vial administered to the musician Sandro Tognatti belonged, who died on Saturday night a few hours after the injection. The prosecutor has opened an investigation for involuntary manslaughter.
“It should be noted,” stated the Prosecutor’s Office in a press release, “that the precautionary measure was implemented because, although currently there is no scientific evidence to establish with certainty the existence of causal or concausal factors between the administration of the vaccine. AstraZeneca “And the death of Tognatti, however, the temporal concomitance between the death of the aforementioned and the administration of the vaccine included in batch ABV5811, together with the absence of previous or concomitant ‘serious’ pathologies, cannot currently exclude the existence of etiological pathologies, link between the two phenomena and the consequent identification of the alleged crime ”.
“The verification – adds the prosecutor Teresa Ángela Camelio – of the existence of this etiological link necessarily requires an autopsy, which will establish the causes of death; These investigations, however, require times that, although accelerated due to the severity of the phenomenon, do not coincide with the vaccination campaign, which is still properly underway. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid that the continuation of the respective administrations throughout the national territory could have more consequences (harmful or fatal), which certainly should be avoided until there is total certainty about the non-imputability of Tognatti’s death to the mentioned administration “.
Administration also suspended in Germany and France
Germany has temporarily suspended the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19. This was announced by the Federal Ministry of Health, explaining that the measure was taken “as a precaution”. The federal government, explained a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, acted on the recommendation of the Federal Institute of Vaccines Paul Ehrlich (Pei). Then new thrombosis case reports in people who have been vaccinated in Germany and Europe, the Institute believes that more research is needed.
The same decision was made by France. “As a precaution,” President Emmanuel Macron explained at a press point, specifying that the decision was made pending the EMA’s opinion, scheduled for Tuesday.
The Netherlands reports 10 cases of thrombi, arrested since last night
The Netherlands, which last night suspended the administration of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for two weeks, reported 10 suspected cases of blood clots in patients who received serum. This was reported by the Dutch pharmaceutical agency, which explained that it had received reports of thrombosis or embolisms in people who had been injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine but not cases of decreased platelet concentration, as reported in Denmark and Norway.
Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said it was “prudent to press the ‘pause’ button as a precautionary measure.” “The crucial question is whether what was reported happened after or because of the vaccine,” De Jonge added in a statement, “there should be no question about the vaccines.”
This is a severe blow to the Dutch vaccination campaign, which was gaining momentum after having started very slowly, last among EU countries. Due to the government’s decision, the appointments of 289,000 citizens who should have received the AstraZeneca vaccine were canceled.
Ema’s verdict on Thursday
The EMA investigation continued over the weekend and a rigorous analysis of all data related to thromboembolic events will take place in the coming days. This was announced by the European Medicines Agency. “Experts are examining in detail all the available data and the clinical circumstances surrounding specific cases to determine if the vaccine may have contributed or if the event is likely due to other causes,” he explains.
“The EMA security committee (PRAC) will continue to review the information tomorrow (Tuesday) and has called an extraordinary meeting on Thursday, March 18 to finalize the information collected and any additional action that may be necessary,” the agency announced.
Indonesia postpones start of administration
Indonesia will postpone the start of the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 pending new information from the WHO on the possible links that some cases of thrombi reported in patients are related to serum. Jakarta Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin reported this to Parliament.
Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, received 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca serum this month and expects another 10 million by the end of April.
