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Norway stopped all use of the vaccine on March 11 after reports of blood clots in people who received the vaccine. A total of four deaths have been reported.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is given in two doses, every few weeks, and for more than 100,000 Norwegians, the offer of dose two is currently unknown.
– There are quite a few people who are in that situation now. Who has received the first dose of AstraZeneca and is now wondering if they should take a second dose or if they should receive something else, Nakstad tells Dagbladet TV.
FHI decided last week to postpone the decision and AstraZeneca’s hiatus was extended until April 15.
– At the moment we do not know how it will be and it depends on effect studies abroad. Most people will probably be offered a second dose. Whether it will be Pfizer, Moderna, or another vaccine, we don’t know yet.
Everyone over 18 years old receives the first dose in mid-July.
– Good immunity
Nakstad says there have been studies of individual vaccines and their effects, as well as studies of the effect of a single dose.
– Then you can do calculations. Since this provides different types of immunity and has different mechanisms of action, it is possible that one dose of one vaccine and one dose of another will produce the same effect. But we don’t have that knowledge yet. FHI is now looking at this, and they will give good advice to those interested, he says and adds:
– I think those involved will get at least as good immunity as those who received two doses of the same vaccine.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE: AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been discontinued in several countries while investigations are underway on possible links to severe cases of blood clots. In some countries, vaccination has started again in older age groups. Photo: Matthias Schrader / AP / NTB
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Steinar Madsen, medical director, says that the Norwegian Medicines Agency also has great faith that two doses of another vaccine will be a good solution.
– Yes, it is definitely a possibility. It is now being investigated whether a combination of vaccines can actually provide better immunity, he says.
The reason is that the vaccines lead to the formation of slightly different antibodies, and that adding together results in better protection against COVID-19, says Madsen.
– It has also become more relevant to combine vaccines with mutations in mind, because some vaccines work better against some mutations than other vaccines.
Criticize the vaccination rate: – Unacceptably slow
Investigating the Sputnik solution
According to Madsen, a research project has been decided analyzing the possibility of combining AstraZeneca and the Russian vaccine Sputnik. The Sputnik vaccine is not currently approved in the EU.
– Note that no major studies have been done on combining vaccines, but we believe there is little risk of this causing unexpected side effects or problems. These are things FHI is considering now, before making a decision on AstraZeneca late next week.
Although it has been several weeks since people with AstraZeneca received the first dose, Madsen emphasizes that it is not urgent that they be given a dose of two, neither of AstraZeneca nor of any other vaccine.
– The permanence between the two doses of AstraZeneca is approved to be up to 12 weeks, and it also turns out that the effect of one dose is quite good and seems to improve over time, so there is no rush.
NEW ASSESSMENT: NIPH will present a new assessment of the future of AstraZeneca in Norway on April 15. Here Steinar Madsen, Medical Director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency, Chief Physician Are Stuwitz Berg of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and Director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency Audun Hågå appear at a press conference on coronary vaccination in December. Photograph: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB
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– Special side effect
In addition to studies in Norway and many other countries, the AstraZeneca vaccine is also under scrutiny by the European Medicines Agency EMA. On Wednesday, EMA chief Emer Cooke said they have investigated 62 serious cases, including 14 deaths, of the rare type of blood clot that has occurred in people who have recently received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
– The fact that you get a strong immune response that can go beyond platelet function, so both are grouped into blood clots, but are also removed from the circulation so that you can bleed easily, moreover, it is a side effect special. in that case, if it can be linked to this vaccine, believe Nakstad.
He says that now they are trying to find out why these people have had this reaction.
– aggravate the situation
– Most women
Earlier this week, it emerged that the German Hans Ehrlich Institute has recorded 31 cases of blood clots in people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine. 29 of them were women aged 23 to 60 years and nine of the patients died.
– In the figures, we see that the majority of women are affected, and it is that among the youngest people, it is mostly women – at least a great majority – who have received this vaccine. This is because among nurses, and those who prioritize staff, there are more women than men. That is why it can be so simple, that there are simply more women who have received the vaccine, and thus there are more incidents in that group.
– Whether it’s age, gender, or other things that might make someone more vulnerable to this, it’s something that is now really being investigated to find out more, Nakstad adds.
These will be offered the vaccine now.
Not tested
A causal link between the vaccine and blood clots has yet to be proven, but it cannot be ruled out, the EMA believes.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency believes there is a probable connection between severe cases of the disease and the vaccine.
On Wednesday, the EMA also released a report, dated March 24, stating that a total of 258 serious cases of blood clots and 45 deaths have been recorded among people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
