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Flavio Lo Scalzo (“Reuters” / “Scanpix”) nuotr.
The German government announced on Monday that it would stop vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. This decision was made due to possible blood clots. Berlin indicated the need for an in-depth analysis of the situation. Italy, France and Spain have taken the same step.
Information has been added that Spain is also blocking vaccination with AstraZeneca
The German Health Ministry said the decision was made “as a precautionary measure” and following a recommendation to suspend vaccination from the German drug regulatory authority.
“Following new reports of cerebrovascular thrombosis vaccination in Germany and Europe, the PEI (Paul Erhlich Institute) believes that more research is needed,” the Health Ministry said, citing the country’s authority responsible for oversight of vaccination. .
A report from the German Health Ministry states that “the European Medicines Agency will decide in the near future whether and in what way the new findings will affect the approval of this vaccine.”
Waiting for EVA’s decision
Italy and France announced this Monday, following the example of other European countries and also stopping vaccination against the coronavirus with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
A report from the Italian Medicines Agency states: “The AIFA has decided to extend the ban on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 as a preventive and temporary measure, pending the rulings of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).”
It also claims that this decision is in line with similar steps in other European countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also announced that vaccination with AstraZeneca is being stopped in his country and that EVA conclusions are awaited.
“A decision has been made … to suspend the use of AstraZeneca as a precaution, in the hope that we can resume it soon if the EVA evaluation allows it,” Macron told a press conference.
Spain has stopped vaccination with AstraZeneca for at least two weeks.
“We have decided to suspend the use of the vaccine for at least the next two weeks,” Health Minister Carolina Darias told reporters.
According to Darius, AstraZeneca will not be vaccinated in Spain until the EVA “analyzes the recent cases of blood clots (formation), especially last weekend”.
Norway has reported that a healthcare worker died of a brain hemorrhage after being vaccinated with AstraZeneca. However, no direct link to the vaccine has been established, authorities said Monday.
This is the second such death in Norway in a few days. As a precautionary measure, the country suspended vaccination with AstraZeneca last Thursday.
The EEA will convene a meeting on Thursday
The EEA will hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to decide to “follow up” on concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine, but added that the benefits of the drug still outweigh the risks.
After several more countries froze vaccination with the vaccine on Monday, the EEA said its safety committee “will continue to investigate the information” on Tuesday.
The Amsterdam-based supervisory authority “called an emergency meeting on Thursday, March 18, to summarize the information gathered and any further action that may be necessary,” its report said.
The agency stressed that it still believes that the vaccine, developed by a British and Swedish company in collaboration with the University of Oxford, is safe to use.
“The EVA currently believes that the benefits of AstraZeneca in preventing COVID-19 and the associated risks of hospitalization and death outweigh the risks of side effects,” it said in a statement Monday.
WHO calls for more vaccinations
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Monday that countries must continue to vaccinate their populations with AstraZeneca.
“We have not yet found a link between these events and the vaccine,” WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a news conference.
The CV recalls that several other EU countries have also temporarily suspended vaccination with AstraZeneca to investigate the possible link between the vaccine and blood clots.
Previously, the EVA and the World Health Organization indicated that the data obtained did not indicate a link between vaccination with this vaccine and the formation of blood clots and recommended that vaccination be continued.
The UN health agency has also indicated that more than 260 million doses of this coronavirus vaccine have not been associated with deaths associated with COVID-19.
The UK and Sweden-based company and Oxford University said there was no link between the vaccine and increased blood clotting.
AstraZeneca reported that 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and 22 cases of pulmonary embolism were reported in vaccinated people. According to the company, this figure is “much lower than would be expected under natural conditions in the general population” in terms of total injections.
The vaccine is widely used for vaccination in Britain, but the European Union has experienced an interruption in the supply of AstraZeneca.
Germany has received just over 3 million. AstraZeneca vaccine doses, but only 1.35 million have been used so far. dose.
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