Thailand is the latest country to delay the use of the vaccine in the UK after health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspended shootings on Thursday.
Earlier, Austria stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca photos while investigating a death caused by clotting disorders and a disease caused by a pulmonary embolism.
‘Blood clots’
Denmark first suspended gunfire for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman who was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch used in Austria formed a blood clot and died, Danish health officials said. .
Their response was also driven by reports of “possible serious side effects” from other European countries.
“It is currently not possible to conclude whether there is a link. We are acting early, we need to investigate thoroughly,” Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter.
Iceland on Thursday suspended vaccine strikes as it awaited the results of an EMA investigation. Italy also on Thursday said it would suspend the use of a different AstraZeneca lot than the one used in Austria.
Four other countries – Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia – have stopped batch inoculations while investigations continue, the EMA said.
Little evidence
Some health experts said there was little evidence to suggest that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given and that cases of blood clots corresponded to the rate of these cases in the general population.
“The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine is the enormous difficulty in distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence,” Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Reuters.
The European drug regulator EMA said the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks and could continue to be given.
AstraZeneca told Reuters in a written statement that the safety of its vaccine has been studied extensively in human studies, and data analyzed by colleagues confirmed that it was generally well tolerated.
Other experts pointed out that of the millions of AstraZeneca vaccines given elsewhere, including in the UK, no cases of vaccine causing blood clots or associated problems have been reported.
Australia, Canada will continue to launch
Australia, meanwhile, said on Friday it would continue to launch AstraZeneca’s Covra-19 vaccine because there was no evidence of a blood clot.
The Australian government has said that while its pharmaceutical regulator monitors these cases, there will be no break in vaccine implementation.
“We continue with the vaccine, we continue with the implementation,” Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack told reporters in Melbourne.
Canada also said the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe after Denmark and Norway temporarily suspended its use.
“Health Canada is aware of reports of adverse events in Europe following immunization with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine and would like to assure Canadians that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks,” the health department said in a statement. .
“At this time, there is no indication that the vaccine caused these events,” he said.
Mexico has also said it will continue to apply doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Swedish authorities said they had not found enough evidence to stop vaccinating AstraZeneca.