London – Sweden became the latest country on Tuesday to join a growing list of countries suspending the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. More than a dozen nations, mostly in Europe, have temporarily stopped using the vaccine as a precaution after a small number of people developed blood clots after being shot.
But experts in the UK and elsewhere in Europe see it as a disaster for the already delayed launch of vaccines on the continent. COVID-19 infections are spreading exponentially again in some parts of Europe, causing even new blockages nationwide.
The UK regulators and directors of AstraZeneca insist that there is no link between the vaccine developed by Oxford University and a higher incidence of blood clots.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company that has teamed up with the prestigious university to produce the drug said an analysis of 17 million people in the UK and Europe who received the vaccine found that less than 40 had developed blood clots – “even smaller than you would expect to find in the general population, “said AstraZeneca.
The incidence of coagulation is similar to that seen in all vaccines, CBS News found, including the Moderna and Pfizer formulas currently used in the United States.
Denmark, Iceland and Norway were among the first to stop using the vaccine developed by Oxford University on 11 March. The next day, Thailand suddenly hit the vaccine’s brakes just before it was launched. The decision was overturned on Tuesday because the Thai prime minister received the first dose of vaccine and urged his Thai colleagues to do the same.
Bulgaria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain have also decided to suspend the use of the vaccine, with some saying they will wait at least until the European Medicines Agency – the EU’s pharmaceutical regulator – issues new guidelines on the vaccine he approved weeks ago. The agency’s panel of experts met on Tuesday to analyze clot data.
Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Luxembourg have suspended the use of at least one batch of AstraZeneca vaccines delivered to different nations.
“No evidence”
The manufacturer of the medicine has been satisfied that there are no data to suggest a link between its vaccine and any serious side effects, and several independent health authorities have supported this position.
The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization said last week that there was no evidence that the drug caused clots.
“An analysis of our safety data from more than 10 million records showed no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in any defined age group, sex, group or in any other country,” said a AstraZeneca spokesman. In fact, the observed number of these types of events is significantly lower in those vaccinated than what would be expected among the general population.
European Medicines Agency officials stressed last week that “there is currently no indication that vaccination causes these conditions” and that “the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine may continue to be given”.
On Monday, however, German officials said the pan-European agency should decide during the week “whether and how the new information will affect vaccine authorization”.
The British pharmaceutical regulator issued new support for the vaccine on Monday, which has been widely used in the UK for weeks
Dr Phil Bryan, head of vaccine safety for the UK Medicines and Medicines Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said people “They should keep going and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so.”
“We are analyzing the reports closely, but given the large number of [AstraZeneca] the doses administered and the frequency with which blood clots can occur naturally, the available evidence does not suggest that the vaccine is the cause, “he told the BBC.
Even countries that have stopped using the vaccine in Europe have said there is no evidence that there are clots. RISE through the AstraZeneca shot – only they appeared after it was administered.
Steve Parsons / Pool / REUTERS
The head of the Oxford vaccine group, Andrew Pollard, said real-world data from the UK mass vaccination program recently showed a 94% drop in hospital admissions for those receiving the Oxford vaccine – even more impressive than with the formula Pfizer.
“I did not have any hospitalizations or deaths [from COVID] to those people who have been vaccinated with the vaccine, “Pollard said.” So, real-world evidence confirms in real life what we saw in clinical trials – it completely exceeded the expectations of the studies. “
US approval and PR issues
The United States has stored tens of millions of doses of the vaccine, but AstraZeneca has not yet filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization for medical use, pending the results of US clinical trials. A company executive told CBSN on March 5 that AstraZeneca hoped to apply for this authorization “in the next few weeks”.
Last year, the Trump administration pledged nearly $ 1.2 billion to AstraZeneca to help develop the vaccine at Oxford University in exchange for 300 million doses.
Easier and cheaper to manufacture and distribute than other vaccines already approved in the US, the Oxford shot has long been considered the leading candidate for inoculation programs not only in America but around the world.
More than 70 countries around the world used it until last week.
The latest safety scares are just the latest in a series vaccine advertising failures.
The data from the study show that the efficacy did not exceed the Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna vaccines, some people in Germany and other countries were reluctant to take a “second class” photo. The government there also stopped approving its use for people over the age of 65, citing a lack of specific study data, but that decision was overturned and German officials were among those critical of stopping vaccination programs in the United States. the other European countries. week.
South Africa also temporarily suspended the vaccine after a small clinical study found that it failed to adequately protect against COVID-19 infection that swept across the country.