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On Monday, Germany, France and Italy joined a group of smaller European countries that temporarily stopped administering the vaccine, saying the move was a precaution amid a small number of serious blood clotting cases reported on the continent.
AstraZeneca and UK drug regulators say there is no evidence to show a connection between clotting and the vaccine. The injection has been given to around 11 million people in the UK, and officials have said there is no data to suggest a link to blood clotting. AstraZeneca has said that based on data from people who have been vaccinated, cases of blood clotting among these recipients are lower than in the general population. The European Medicines Agency, which regulates medicines in the European Union, has also said it has not seen any links.
Still, the EMA is conducting a deeper investigation of the cases and is expected to provide a recommendation on Tuesday. The vaccine is not approved for use in the United States.
Q: How does the vaccine work?
Unlike Pfizer intakes Inc.
and Modern Inc.,
Using a new genetic technique called mRNA, AstraZeneca injection employs a method called viral vector delivery. The injection uses a modified chimpanzee cold virus to transport genetic material into human cells to activate immunity.
Q: Why is it not approved in the US?
AstraZeneca has just concluded large-scale human trials in the US Once they are analyzed and published, and assuming they show that the vaccine is safe and effective against Covid-19, the company can apply for authorization for use. Emergency Department of the Food and Drug Administration. .
Q: Where is it used?
The UK has administered around 11 million doses, one of the main reasons why UK deployment is faster than others. The European Union has administered around six million doses. It has been approved for use in India and dozens of other countries.
AstraZeneca promised to produce three billion doses of the vaccine without profit. Because of that commitment, and its promise to distribute the injection worldwide as well, it has become a key element in vaccinating the developing world.
Q: How effective is the injection?
In late-stage human trial results late last year, AstraZeneca showed a variety of results for effectiveness against symptomatic Covid-19, between 62% and 90%. However, the highest effectiveness only occurred in a small subset of relatively young trial participants, who received a smaller starting dose. The results of the US trials should provide a more definitive efficacy rate.
In the UK, where it has been used most widely, researchers have found that among older Britons who have received it so far, the injection was very effective (about 80%) in preventing serious illness.
Q: What is the security problem in Europe?
Last week, reports emerged of a possible clotting problem, with one death and one case of serious illness, in Austria. That country discontinued a batch of the vaccine, but said it had no evidence of a connection between the health incidents and the injection and continued to use it in another way.
On Thursday, Denmark, Norway and Iceland halted use of the vaccine entirely, citing additional cases and concerns. Danish authorities said they would wait at least two weeks before administering it again. The EMA, which acts much like the Food and Drug Administration in regulating medicine in the European Union, has already said that severe blood clots were no more common among vaccinated people than the general population. He has said that he is investigating reported cases of multiple thrombosis or the formation of blood clots within blood vessels and similar conditions.
Write to Jenny Strasburg at [email protected]
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