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Today, following the EVA meeting and the information and recommendations provided by the State Medicines Control Agency, vaccination with AstraZeneca will resume from tomorrow morning. We understand people’s concerns and are committed to sharing vaccine safety data in a transparent manner, “the minister said.
The order is changing: people will be able to choose the vaccine, the country’s leaders will be vaccinated on Monday
According to him, the vaccination procedure against COVID-19 will also be changed from Friday: people will be able to decide whether they want to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca or a vaccine from another manufacturer.
“From now on, residents will be able to choose a vaccine from the different vaccines at the vaccination center at that time. If the desired vaccine is not available, the population will be contacted later. From now on, everyone is free to decide if they want to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, ”said A. Dulkys.
At the same time, the minister announced that the country’s leaders will be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday: President Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, President of Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen and Health Minister A. Dulkys himself. .
“Today, I will sign an order to supplement the population groups to be vaccinated, including the President of Lithuania, members of the Seimas and the Government. To show confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine, we agreed that President G. Nausėda, the President of Seimas V. Čmilytė-Nielsen, Prime Minister I. Šimonytė and I will be publicly vaccinated on Monday, “he said.
A.Dulkys jointly invited all members of the Government and the Seimas to follow this example and also to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Another change is that, from now on, vaccination centers will be able to move more quickly from one priority group to another, that is, if there are not enough people in the vaccinated group at that time to be vaccinated, it will be possible to offer it. to other priority groups.
Vaccines will also be distributed to municipalities and vaccination centers not only according to the population of a certain priority group, but also according to the rhythm of that vaccination center. In addition, if a municipality does not use the vaccine doses assigned to it, they can be redistributed to other municipalities and vaccination centers.
IWT Guide – Threat Conclusions
For his part, Gytis Andrulionis, Head of the State Drug Control Service (VVKT), presented the conclusions of the EEA meeting. “It has been agreed that the benefits of the vaccine to combat the spread of COVID-19 continue to outweigh the risks of possible side effects. The vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of blood clots or thromboembolic events,” said G. Andrulionis.
According to the IWT manager, it was confirmed that there are no problems with the production of quality vaccines.
“However, it has been discovered that the vaccine may be associated with extremely rare cases of blood clotting disorders associated with thrombocytopenia, that is, low platelet counts, including extremely rare cases of cerebral sinus venous thrombosis.” However, (…) they have been found to be extremely rare.
It was estimated that of almost 20 million. “Seven cases of coagulation disorders in various blood vessels and 18 cases of cerebral sinus thrombosis have been recorded and reviewed in people with VAS vaccinated with AstraZeneca,” Anddrulionis said.
Importantly, a causal relationship between these extremely rare blood clotting disorders and the vaccine has not been established, but it is concluded that it cannot be ruled out at this time either.
According to G. Anddrulionis, IWT and EVA recommend continuing vaccination, since most of the answers to the hypotheses and questions have been received. In addition, according to the CIG Manual, additional pharmacovigilance and safety measures have been agreed both at the EEA level and at the national level.
“I would like to point out that yesterday and the day before yesterday, the information released by the EEA included only preliminary evaluations, and only now has the official evaluation of the signal been completed, specifically for cases of thromboembolism.
Despite these findings that the benefits of the vaccine clearly outweigh the potential risks, especially during a pandemic, it was agreed to continue to monitor safety, continue consulting with scientists, and actively exchange information about each new message, adverse event ” , G. Andrdrionis concluded.
VAS Handbook: Vaccine is not associated with an overall increased risk of blood clots
In its final conclusions on the safety of AstraZeneca, EEA chief Emer Cooke said that during the study, the committee “came to a clear scientific conclusion that the vaccine was safe and effective” and was not associated with “a overall increased risk of thromboembolism or blood clots. “
The European Medicines Agency hopes these findings will allay concerns about rare potential side effects, including blood clots, and will encourage more than a dozen countries that have stopped vaccinating to resume use.
It is true that the director of EVA, E. Cooke, pointed out that “a link cannot be definitively ruled out” between a rare type of blood clot and a vaccine, but experts recommend encouraging doctors and vaccinated people to pay attention to the possible risks.
The VAS recommended that a description of these cases be included in the package inserts so that healthcare professionals and patients are aware of the likelihood of rare blood clots.
We remind you that Health Minister A. Dulkys announced on Tuesday evening to temporarily suspend vaccination with AstraZeneca until the EVA provides final conclusions on the connection of thromboembolic cases with the vaccine.
The decision was made on the basis of the relevant recommendation of the State Medicines Control Agency.
That same day, the European Medicines Agency said there were “no signs” that a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford had caused blood clots in some people who had been vaccinated.
Vaccination with this vaccine has been temporarily suspended by several European Union countries, including Germany, France, Italy and other members of the Community, due to suspected blood clots.
