[ad_1]
On Monday afternoon, the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) suspended the administration of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca as a precaution due to some fears related to possible adverse effects. The announcement was quite surprising because less than 24 hours before AIFA had defined “unjustified” the alarm against the vaccine. In reality, as it emerged in the last hours, the decision to suspend the use of AstraZeneca did not come from AIFA but from the government of Mario Draghi. This was confirmed by Nicola Magrini, director of AIFA, who in an interview published today in Republic He said the decision was “political”, without adding more details.
The indication to suspend the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine was decided by the government on Monday, March 15 after what a government source heard from the Mail defined “coordination” with the main countries of the European Union.
– Read also: What the data says about AstraZeneca
Shortly before the AIFA announcement, both France and Germany had said they had temporarily suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine; In the days before, other European countries, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal and Ireland, had made similar decisions. However, it appears that it was Germany’s decision that convinced the Italian government to do the same.
In Germany, the suspension was decided after some evaluations by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, the German government agency that deals with drug safety. In a statement published Monday afternoon, the institute had spoken of “significant” reports of circulatory problems (thrombosis) in vaccinated people, in language quite pronounced for a scientific institute.
Around the same time, several contacts had taken place between the Italian and German governments: the Italian Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, and the German, Jens Spahn, had spoken by telephone; Republic He also spoke of a call between Draghi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to the government source heard by the Mail, the Italian government “presented itself with different data from the previous days.” Sources from the Ministry of Health added that on Monday Speranza also spoke with the Ministers of Health of France and Spain.
Currently, the only Western European countries that have not completely suspended AstraZeneca are Austria and Belgium. Other sources of the Presidency of the Council have wanted to specify that, in fact, the decision of the Italian government was taken “in consonance with the other European countries”.
It is not clear if the institutions of the European Union participated in the decision of the national governments, but it seems that not. In the early hours of Monday afternoon, EMA vaccines chief Marco Cavaleri had told the European Parliament that he said there are “no problems” requiring the AstraZeneca administration to be stopped. The EMA reiterated its position in a statement published after the announcement of the suspension of AstraZeneca in several European countries, however, it explained that today, Tuesday, March 16, it will begin a review of the adverse effects data that is expected to end on Thursday, March 18 .
– Read also: Why don’t you worry about the AstraZeneca vaccines?
The three days between the press release and the conclusion of the analyzes are necessary for the European agency to acquire the medical records of suspected cases and formulate the first hypotheses. However, it seems difficult for the EMA to change position. The agency has already explained that cases of thrombosis in all vaccinated patients have a similar proportion to those found in the general population and, unless new findings are expected, it will recommend resuming dosing.
AIFA also tried to reaffirm the effectiveness of AstraZeneca. In the interview with RepublicMagrini explained that “the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, I feel like I can tell even after reviewing all the data.” Based on the 2004 law that defines its institutional structure, AIFA is a government agency with autonomy for decision-making, depending on the Ministry of Health only to “guide activities.” Contacted by Mail, AIFA did not comment on its decision to discontinue the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca.
[ad_2]
