PARIS (AP) – First, France has abruptly stopped vaccinations against AstraZeneca. Now, the French prime minister wants to get one as soon as he can.
With the return of the virus from Paris to Budapest and beyond, European governments that have rushed to suspend the use of AstraZeneca vaccines after reports of blood clots are realizing the widespread impact of this move. And they suddenly seem eager for any signal – or fig leaf – that allows them to resume photos.
This could happen immediately after Thursday, when the European Medicines Agency publishes the initial results of its investigations if there is a link between the vaccine and blood clots. To date, the EMA and the World Health Organization have stated that there is no evidence that the vaccine is to blame.
But experts worry that the damage has already been done. Suspensions by Germany, France, Italy, Spain and others have fueled doubts about the often denigrated AstraZeneca vaccine and vaccination efforts in general as the world struggles to overcome the pandemic..
“There are thousands of new cases in Germany, France, Italy, etc. daily. If you stop vaccinating during this ongoing pandemic, you know people will die, ”Michael Head, a senior researcher in global health at the University of Southampton, told the Associated Press.
Stressing the importance of investigating potentially dangerous side effects, he said: “It is entirely possible to investigate the signals without stopping the vaccine.”
Some countries comply with AstraZeneca vaccines. India on Wednesday vowed to continue vaccinations a few hours before the Brazilian health minister celebrated the first doses of bottled AstraZeneca in the country.
New cases of coronavirus rose 10 percent worldwide last week, caused by increases in Europe and America, the WHO reported on Wednesday, calling for continued vaccinations.
“The disease is turning the corner and we need to control it,” said Dr Michael Ryan, WHO’s chief emergency officer. “We will be behind the virus again.”
Just before Thursday’s announcement by Europe’s watchdog of medicines, the European Commission president made it clear that the AstraZeneca vaccine would remain a pillar of the EU’s vaccine strategy.
“I trust AstraZeneca, I trust vaccines,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
Instead of addressing the vaccination suspensions that have divided the EU, von der Leyen focused on the drug company’s supply problems and relaunched talks on vaccine bans in the EU..
“Unfortunately, AstraZeneca underproduced and under-delivered, and this has, of course, led to a slowdown in the vaccination campaign,” she told reporters. She said the EU still aims to vaccinate 70% of all adults by September.
But AstraZeneca photo suspensions in a cascading number of countries were another obstacle to the EU’s vaccination effort, which has been plagued by shortages and other obstacles and is far behind the UK and US Issues campaigns.
Almost as soon as the French president froze vaccinations on Monday, top French officials began to worry about the impact on public opinion in a country where many already considered the AstraZeneca vaccine to be second-class and where vaccine skepticism is widespread.
The government now hopes to announce the resumption of vaccinations as soon as Thursday. The Paris region is facing new blockade measures this week as more contagious and harmful virus variants have pushed intensive care units beyond capacity and sent recurrent infections, despite a nationwide coverage hour from 6 p.m. : 00 and the long-term closure of restaurants and many companies.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex, who is not yet eligible for vaccination at the age of 55 and has no known underlying health problems, told national television on Tuesday night that “it would be wise to get vaccinated very soon, as soon as the suspension is, I hope, high. “
Castex said it wants to show its fellow citizens “that vaccination is the way out of this crisis.”
Italy follows a similar line. Health Minister Roberto Speranza says European countries hope the EMA will provide the “clarifications and assurances” needed on Thursday to resume administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine “without hesitation”.
In Germany, where eight cases of blood clots are being investigated, officials defended the decision to suspend vaccinations for further investigation, but appeared ready to resume them soon. Ministry of Health spokesman Hanno Kautz said: “It is clear that the EMA decision is binding and, of course, we will follow the EMA decision.”
The Lithuanian president criticized his health minister’s decision to suspend the shootings, saying it was causing “enormous damage to the entire vaccination process”.
The impact has reached beyond Europe, with some people shaking up the AstraZeneca vaccine, even though it is the only one available.
Amós García, president of the Spanish Vaccinology Association, said it would be difficult for governments to rebuild confidence in the overall coronavirus vaccination program, no matter what the EMA announces.
“The problem when a vaccine is questioned is not that it affects that vaccine, but that it affects the whole world of vaccination,” he said.
“There may have been an excess of zeal” among governments such as Spain, which suspended vaccinations, he said. But he praised European vaccine surveillance systems for quickly identifying and investigating blood clots. Spain is examining three such cases.
Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias defended the decision to seize the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it was necessary to “continue to build confidence” in efforts to combat COVID-19.
The EMA says that thousands of people across the EU develop blood clots every year for several reasons and that there have been no reports of increased coagulation incidents in clinical trials of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The company says there have been 37 reports of blood clots among the more than 17 million people who received the vaccine in the EU and the UK.
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Cook reported from Brussels. Maria Cheng in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Aritz Parra in Madrid, Colleen Barry in Milan and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed.
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