A health worker owns a box of AstraZeneneca vaccine at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi Province, on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Chaiwat Subprasom | Images SOUP | LightRocket via Getty Images
LONDON – The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has now been suspended in several European and Asian countries following reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people. However, many other nations have defended their use of fire and said they would continue their inoculation campaigns.
Thailand on Friday became the first Asian country to stop using the jab due to safety concerns, shortly after Denmark announced a two-week hiatus at its national launch, following reports of blood clots and death.
In an obstacle to the European vaccination campaign, seven other countries have also suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coup: Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
Meanwhile, Austria and Italy have said they will stop using certain batches of vaccine as a precaution.
The European Medicines Authority, the European Medicines Agency, said on Thursday that there was no indication that the shot would cause blood clots, adding that the benefits of the vaccine “continue to outweigh its risks”.
The EMA acknowledged that some Member States have stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, but said vaccinations could continue to be given while an investigation into blood clots is ongoing.
As of Wednesday, about 5 million people in Europe had received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Of this figure, 30 cases of so-called “thromboembolic events” have been reported. These cases involve the formation of blood clots in the blood vessels and blockage of blood flow.
AstraZeneca said the vaccine was studied extensively during phase 3 studies, and peer-reviewed data confirm that the vaccine is generally well tolerated.
Why do countries stop vaccination campaigns?
The Thai Ministry of Health announced on Friday that it will temporarily postpone the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, describing the shooting as a “good vaccine”, but that it wants to suspend it for safety investigations.
Kiattiphum Wongjit, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Public Health, said the Southeast Asian country had managed to halt its vaccination campaign as it largely brought a second wave of Covid cases under quarantine and border controls. , according to Reuters.
A press conference on the temporary halt of the launch of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination in Thailand takes place in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 12, 2021.
Xinhua | Rachen Sageamsak through Getty Images
The country with nearly 70 million people has so far recorded about 26,600 cases and 85 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Thailand’s decision to suspend the planned launch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which was due to start on Friday, came after the Danish Health Authority’s decision.
“It is important to emphasize that we have not given up the AstraZeneca vaccine, but that we are stopping it,” Soren Brostrom, director of Denmark’s National Health Council, said on Thursday.
“There is good evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective. But both we and the Danish Medicines Agency need to react to reports of possible serious side effects, both in Denmark and in other European countries.”
Many high-income countries have chosen to continue launching the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine due to safety concerns.
The United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada and Mexico are among some nations that have tried to reassure citizens about the benefits of getting the vaccine and said they would continue their inoculation campaigns.
What do the experts say?
The EMA’s safety committee is looking into the matter, but said there is currently no evidence that the vaccine caused blood clots – noting that they are not listed as side effects of the vaccine.
The European Medicines Authority also noted that the data available so far have shown that the number of blood clots in vaccinated people is not higher than that observed in the general population.
“The blood clot reports received so far are no higher than the number that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population,” said Dr Phil Bryan, UK’s leading vaccine safety for medicines and healthcare products. health.
“Public safety will always come first. We keep this issue under close scrutiny, but the available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause. People should go ahead and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so. “Bryan said.
A resident of Southampton, Peter Brownsea receives the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from a member of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service at a temporary vaccination center set up at Basingstoke Fire Station, Hampshire, South England, as crews continue to carry out 999 emergency calls.
Andrew Matthews | AFP | Getty Images
Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine is the enormous difficulty in distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence.”
“This is especially true when we know that Covid-19 disease is very strongly associated with blood clotting and there have been hundreds, if not thousands of deaths caused by blood clotting as a result of Covid-19 disease. The first thing to do is to be absolutely sure that the clots had no other cause, including Covid-19, “Evans added.
How does the vaccine work?
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is a vaccine designed to prevent coronavirus in people aged 18 years and over. It consists of an adenovirus that has been modified to contain the gene for the production of a protein from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The most common side effects of the shot, which does not contain the virus and cannot cause Covid, are usually mild or moderate and improve within a few days of vaccination.
Late clinical trials have found that AstraZeneca-Oxford shot has an average effectiveness of 70% in protecting against the virus.
A more recent study by Oxford researchers found that the Covid vaccine was 76% effective in preventing symptomatic infection for three months after a single dose and that the rate of effectiveness actually increased with a longer interval between the first and second dose. the second dose.
– CNBC Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.