AstraZeneca vaccination is renewed in Lithuania: people will be able to choose the vaccine

It is recalled that some European countries have stopped vaccinating this vaccine, developed by an Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company, after reports of possible blood clots associated with this vaccine.

Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys announced the decision to stop vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Lithuania until this Thursday at a remote press conference on Tuesday night.

Today I received a recommendation from IWT that, like other European Union countries, the Authority, as a precautionary measure, recommends that vaccination with COVID-19 AstraZeneca be suspended until the European Medicines Agency has issued final conclusions. about the safety of this vaccine. . We will take into account the recommendation of the service, “A. Dulkys told reporters on Tuesday.

However, on Thursday it was decided to resume vaccination with this vaccine.

“Following the EVA meeting and the recommendation of the IWT in the morning, vaccination with AstraZeneca will resume starting tomorrow morning,” announced A. Dulkys.

The minister also added: “We understand people’s concerns and we are ready to share vaccine data with people in a transparent way. The Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the situation with investigations carried out by the European Medicines Agency, the State Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization. In our country, there is a mechanism to monitor and investigate adverse events after receiving any, I emphasize, any vaccine. However, I think it still needs to be fully strengthened in the area of ​​pharmacovigilance. “

AstraZeneca to be vaccinated by national leaders

Starting Monday, according to A. Dulkis, the country’s leaders will also be vaccinated with the aforementioned vaccine: President Gitanas Nausėda, Seimas President Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and himself.

Even today, I will sign a supplementary order to the population groups to be vaccinated, including the President of the Republic of Lithuania, members of the Seimas and members of the Government. To show confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine, we agreed that on Monday the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, the President of Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Prime Minister Ingrinda Šimonytė and I will be vaccinated, ”said A. Dulkys.

The minister encouraged the public to consult their family doctors if they feel uncomfortable after vaccination.

There are 4 major changes before Friday

A. Dulkys listed 4 main changes that will go into effect on Friday.

“The first is that from now on, residents will be able to choose a vaccine from among the vaccines that are in the center at that time. If the desired vaccine is not available, the population will be contacted later. From now on, you are free to decide if you want to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca.

The second change is that vaccination centers will be able to move more quickly from one priority group to another.

The third change is that vaccines will be distributed to vaccination centers and municipalities not only according to the population, but also according to the vaccination rate.

The fourth change: if it happens that the municipality does not use the vaccines, their redistribution to other municipalities will be considered ”, said the head of SAM.

You can pass the vaccines to other people.

A. Dulkys also mentioned the possibility of switching to vaccination of other groups in society.

“We are still considering a theoretical option today, if we could freely vaccinate the whole society. But we have seen that, depending on the amount of vaccines we have now, this is not possible. On the other hand, we have analyzed and we have signs that there are indeed a large number of people in priority groups who have not yet completed vaccination who would agree and want to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca. Therefore, in particular, we will launch a more liberal movement of vaccines through the existing priority groups. Later When it becomes clear how many people were in those groups, we will continue to consider releasing them freely, regardless of priority groups, ”said A. Dulkys.

According to the minister, from Friday people will be asked if they will be vaccinated with AstraZeneca or if they will have other vaccines. If a person rejects it, the vaccine is passed on to other priority groups. If the vaccine is not yet used, it will be taken to a mass vaccination center.

“If you do not want to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca, but there are no other vaccines at the vaccination center, you will have to wait,” said the head of SAM.

The vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of blood clots.

According to Gytis Anrulionis, Head of IWT, at a press conference on Thursday, the European Medicines Agency decided that the AstraZeneca vaccine continues to outweigh the risk of possible side effects in the fight against coronavirus.

“However, it has been emphasized 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, these cases were found to be extremely rare, with nearly 20 million people vaccinated with AstraZeneca, and EVA recorded and reviewed 7 cases of blood clotting and 18 cases of cerebral sinus thrombosis. Importantly, a causal relationship between extremely rare bleeding disorders has not been established with the vaccine, but it was concluded that it could not be ruled out. But such cases are extremely rare, “said G. Andrulionis.

Oncoinmunologist: This is gratifying news

Marius Strioga, oncology doctor of biomedical sciences, was satisfied that the AstraZeneca vaccine had been validated.

“I think this is one of the good news in this whole context. This is one that shows that vaccine safety is taken seriously. So far, there have been a number of statements about ‘anticoagulants’ trying to push unsafe experimental vaccines. almost by force. We can see that this is not being done, “said Strioga.

The European Medicines Agency and the European Medicines Agency recommend that vaccination be continued and that additional safety measures be taken, such as faster information exchange and more active consultation.

Earlier this Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) repeatedly called on countries to continue vaccinating AstraZeneca against COVID-19.