[ad_1]
The president of Infarmed, Rui Ivo, announced this Monday that Portugal will also suspend the AstraZeneca vaccine against covid-19, as well as other European countries.
Rui Ivo stated, at a press conference, that the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine was suspended in Portugal, “based on the application of the precautionary principle and public health.”
Graça Freitas, general director of Health, asked the Portuguese to maintain “confidence” in the vaccine and in the institutions, highlighting that “the pause of the vaccine is only given by a mechanism of extreme safety and precaution.” “Adverse reactions are very serious, but also very rare,” he emphasized. In Europe, 17 million doses of this drug have been administered.
“If you have been vaccinated, remain calm. These reactions are extremely rare and similar phenomena have not been reported in our country,” guarantees the Director General of Health.
“If you feel a persistent discomfort, especially if it is accompanied by bruises or skin bleeding, do not hesitate and consult a doctor,” he appeals.
Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo, who heads the covid-19 vaccination working group in Portugal, clarified that, as the JN had said, the vaccination of teachers and non-teaching staff, scheduled for this weekend, had to be suspended. The intention was to vaccinate this group with Astrazeneca.
At this time 400 thousand doses of this brand have already been delivered and there are still 200 thousand in stock. In addition to the teachers, they were also planned for patients older than 50 years and comorbidities up to 80 years. “By mid-April, everyone will be vaccinated,” said the soldier. “The process will be postponed for about two weeks.” “We will concentrate the available vaccines in the highest priority groups, reducing them in the most resilient groups,” explained Gouveia e Melo.
For those who have already taken this vaccine, the advice of the authorities is to wait. Everything is being evaluated at the European level, Graça Freitas said, and the second vaccine will only have to be administered after eight to 12 weeks. The CEO did not want to go ahead to outline any scenario.
Lisbon health centers, which had planned to vaccinate users with the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday, have already suspended the process, and the decision must be transferred to the local authorities responsible for the logistics of these operations.
Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Norway, Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg and Denmark, as well as other countries, even outside Europe, have already stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine “as a precaution”, following reports of serious cases. . blood clots in people who have been vaccinated with doses of the medicine.
The company has already said that there is no reason to worry about its vaccine and that fewer cases of thrombosis have been reported in people who received the injection than in the general population.
The health ministers of the European Union (EU) will meet on Tuesday in a videoconference organized by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council, at a time of new controversies with the pharmaceutical AstraZeneca over delays and problems in vaccines against covid-19.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the available data does not suggest that the AstraZeneca vaccine caused the clots and that people can continue to be immunized with that drug.
[ad_2]
