BERLIN (AP) – Germany, France, Italy and Spain on Monday became the latest countries to suspend the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of dangerous blood clots to some recipients, although the company and European regulators said there is no evidence of the blow is to blame.
AstraZeneca’s is just one of three vaccines used on the continent. However, the declining number of nations triggering the alarm is another obstacle to the European Union’s vaccination action, which has been plagued by shortages. and other obstacles and lags far behind the campaigns in the UK and US
The EU Drug Enforcement Agency convened a meeting on Thursday to review experts’ conclusions on the AstraZeneca vaccine and decide whether action should be taken.
Anger comes, as much of Europe is tightening restrictions on schools and businesses amid growing cases of COVID-19.
The German health minister said the decision to suspend AstraZeneca shots was taken on the advice of the country’s vaccine regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which called for a further investigation into seven cases of brain clots in people who have been vaccinated.
“Today’s decision is a purely preventive measure,” Jens Spahn said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said his country will also suspend shootings until at least Tuesday afternoon. The Italian drug regulator announced a temporary ban less than 24 hours after saying the “alarm” over the vaccine “was not justified”. Spain has also said it will stop using the vaccine for two weeks, while experts will examine its safety.
AstraZeneca said there were 37 reports of blood clots in more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union in 27 countries and the United Kingdom. The doctor said there was no evidence that the vaccine had an increased risk of clots.
In fact, he said the incidence of clots is much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar to that of other authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
The World Health Organization and the EU’s European Medicines Agency also said the data did not suggest the vaccine had caused clots and that people should continue to be immunized.
“Many thousands of people develop blood clots in the EU every year for various reasons,” said the European Medicines Agency. The incidence of vaccinated persons “does not appear to be higher than that observed in the general population”.
The agency said that while the investigation is ongoing, “the benefits of AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with the associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of side effects.”
Blood clots can travel through the body and cause heart attacks, strokes and deadly blockages in the lungs. AstraZeneca reported 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis or a type of clot that often develops in the legs and 22 cases of pulmonary embolism or clots in the lungs.
The AstraZeneca blow has become a key tool in European countries’ efforts to step up their slow vaccine launch. It is also the backbone of a UN-backed project known as COVAX, which aims to transport COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are also used on the European continent, and the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine has been licensed but not yet delivered.
In the US, which is based on the Pfizer, Moderna and J&J vaccines, AstraZeneca is expected to apply for authorization in the coming weeks.
Last week, Denmark became the first country to temporarily stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine. It is said that a person developed clots and died 10 days after receiving at least one dose. Other countries include Ireland, Thailand, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Congo and Bulgaria.
The United Kingdom and Canada are currently working on the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dr Michael Head, a senior researcher in global health at the University of Southampton in England, said there was no data yet to justify the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine and called the decision “puzzling”.
“Stopping the launch of a vaccine during a pandemic has consequences,” Head said. “This results in delays in protecting people and the potential for increased hesitation in the vaccine as a result of people who have seen the headlines and understood they are obviously worried.”
Spahn, the German health minister, said of the decision to suspend the AstraZeneca shooting: “The most important thing for trust is transparency.” He said both the first and second doses would be affected by the suspension.
German authorities have encouraged anyone who feels increasingly ill more than four days after receiving the shot – for example, with persistent headaches or bruises in the form of a spot – to seek medical attention.
Germany has received just over 3 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, and about half of them have been administered so far, compared to almost 7 million Pfizer vaccines and about 285,000 from Moderna.
The head of the Spanish Medicines Agency, Maria Jesús Lamas, said Spain had detected its first case of clots last Saturday. She said the ban was not an “easy decision” as it further slowed the national vaccination campaign, but was the “most prudent” approach.
Nearly 940,000 people in Spain received the AstraZeneca shot.
Meanwhile, Europe is reintroducing restrictions in an attempt to reverse a recurrence of infections, many of which are variants of the original virus.
In Italy, 80% of children across the country were unable to attend classes after stricter rules came into force in several regions on Monday. In Poland, strengthened restrictions have been applied in two other regions, including Warsaw. Paris could be closed in a matter of days as intensive care units become flooded with COVID-19 patients.
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Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Maria Cheng in London and Frances D’Emilio in Rome contributed to this report.
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