Lithuania temporarily suspends vaccination with AstraZeneca

He took into account the recommendations

AstonZeneca’s vaccination against the coronavirus has already been stopped by several European countries, including Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, Norway and neighboring Latvia.

It is true that on Tuesday afternoon A. Dulkys promised to vaccinate himself with said vaccine at the time of the Seimas government, as soon as possible, and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė initially stated that the Government is not considering stopping vaccination against the AstraZeneca coronavirus. vaccine.

However, in a remote press conference held in the evening, A. Dulkys announced that the recommendation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to temporarily suspend vaccination with this vaccine would be taken into account.

Today I received a recommendation from the State Medicines Control Agency (IARC) that, like other European Union countries, the Authority recommends, as a precaution, suspending the COVID-19 vaccination with AstraZeneca until the European Medicines Agency has issued final conclusions on its safety. We will consider the recommendation of the service, “said A. Dulkys.

Currently, according to the minister, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Sweden and Latvia have stopped vaccination with AstraZeneca. The EEA calls an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to draw conclusions on all the information collected.

“As far as we know officially, both the EEA and the World Health Organization (WHO) say there is still no strong evidence that the vaccine can increase the risk of blood clots. The head of the European Medicines Agency said tonight that he was sure that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks, but it was important to emphasize that the conclusions and evaluations would be carried out on Thursday, ”said the head of SAM on Tuesday night.

Three cases of thromboembolism occurred

According to the head of IoT, Gytis Andrulionis, at the press conference, there are currently three reports in Lithuania that people vaccinated with AstraZeneca have developed thromboembolic events.

Andrulionis recalled that the AstraZeneca vaccine had been registered by the European Commission after a detailed study by the EEA.

“There is no question that the benefits outweigh the risks at this point. However, we have some key aspects that led to those decisions. In particular, 16 countries of the European Economic Area and the European Union have discontinued one or all series of AstraZeneca vaccines. The vast majority of these decisions will be made before the European Medicines Agency presents its evaluations. Those evaluations have already started. […] He is expected to present his findings on Thursday, “commented G. Andrulionis.

Lithuania is the seventeenth country in the European Community to make such a decision.

“This is the reason why this decision is being made at the moment: in the last few days, we have received 3 reports of suspected serious unexpected adverse reactions related to thromboembolic events in Lithuania vaccinated with AstraZeneca in several hours.”

Whether it is due to the vaccine or just a time overlap, we do not have such evidence yet, all the data is transferred to a common network. […] As a result, our service recommended to the ministry that vaccination with AstraZeneca be temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure, ”said the IWT head.

There is no evidence that thrombi have formed due to the vaccine.

Rugilė Pilvinienė, senior advisor to the ICD’s Department of Pharmacovigilance and Poisoning Information, said that at the end of last week, there were no alarming reports of this vaccine in Lithuania.

“But because people read the press, they get the impression that people have been encouraged to report suspected side effects related to thromboembolic events after AstraZeneca.

We received several such reports, 3 of which were serious adverse reactions and 2 of which clotted the lungs in blood vessels. This led us to take additional precautions, ”said R. Pilvinienė.

However, the specialist stressed that this decision is not based on real evidence that blood clots are caused by the vaccine.

“It is very likely that these are just findings found as a result of mass vaccination and simply more attention to the disease that is already common in humans.”

This disease is quite difficult to diagnose until a crisis situation occurs. Now, what we are seeing is a manifestation and a more visible picture of these disorders, because vaccination reveals diseases that people might have nothing to do with until then and it lies in statistics such as the general incidence of diseases, “he explained R. Pilvinienė.

Serious side effects occurred in older women.

According to R. Pilvinienė, a report of thrombosis in a vaccinated person was received in Lithuania shortly before and after the next dose of vaccine.

The age and sex of the vaccinated patients who developed a thrombus coincided with the prevailing average for this disease in older women, approximately 80 years of age. Thrombosis occurred in residents of Mažeikiai, Šakiai and Vilnius.

People who have been vaccinated with this vaccine should be monitored for signs of calf swelling, especially if they have had it in the past. In such circumstances, you should consult your GP.

People receiving the first AstraZeneca vaccine for the first time need not worry, as the next dose is only scheduled for May. Until then, according to the minister, this issue should definitely be resolved.

He has stopped vaccinations and other vaccinations.

A. Dulkys recalled that in early January vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine had been temporarily suspended, because at that time information was received about a possible damaged cold chain.

“Of course, when hundreds of thousands of people are vaccinated, it is normal for various reactions of the body to occur and many questions arise. We hope that the European Medicines Agency will provide answers while investigating all reactions. […] Personally, I trust the AstraZeneca vaccine and believe that we will soon receive reasoned responses from everyone, both European and national. And when the time and opportunity comes, I will be the first in line to get vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, ”said A. Dulkys.