LONDON – Ireland and the Netherlands have joined the growing list of countries that have suspended the use of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University due to blood clot problems.
The Dutch government said on Sunday that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would not be used until at least March 29, while Ireland said earlier that day that it had temporarily suspended the shooting as a precautionary measure.
The World Health Organization has tried to downplay ongoing safety concerns, saying last week there was no link between the shooting and an increased risk of developing blood clots. The United Nations Health Agency has called on countries to continue using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Despite this, a number of European countries have already stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. This added to the problems of the region’s sick vaccination campaign, at a time when the German public health agency had warned that a third wave of coronavirus infections had already begun.
Thailand has also stopped the planned implementation of the vaccine.
The move to discontinue its use by Dutch and Irish officials came shortly after the Norwegian Medicines Agency said it had been notified of three health workers who had been treated in hospital for bleeding, blood clots and a low platelet count after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Norway has suspended its Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccination program.
Geir Bukholm, director of the Environmental Infection and Health Control Division at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said the Norwegian Medicines Agency would “follow up on these suspected side effects and take the necessary action in this serious situation”.
The image taken on November 27, 2020 shows “Nikki” Anniken Hars treating a Covid-19 patient at the intensive care unit of Oslo Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo, Norway.
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The European Medicines Agency, the European Medicines Agency, also said there was no indication that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine caused blood clots, adding that it believed the vaccine’s benefits “continue to outweigh its risks”.
The EMA acknowledged that some European countries have stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, but said inoculations could continue to be administered while an investigation into blood clots is ongoing.
How did AstraZeneca respond?
“A careful analysis of all available safety data for more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union (EU) and the UK with COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine did not show an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or thrombocytopenia , in any age group, gender, lot or in a certain country, “AstraZeneca said in a statement on Sunday.
The most common side effects of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which does not contain the virus and cannot cause Covid, are usually mild or moderate and improve within a few days of vaccination.
A health worker owns a box of AstraZeneneca vaccine at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi Province, on the outskirts of Bangkok.
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The pharmaceutical giant said that there were 15 events of deep vein thrombosis and 22 events of pulmonary embolism reported among those vaccinated across the EU and the UK.
“This is much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar to other authorized COVID-19 vaccines,” said AstraZeneca.
What do the experts say?
“Covid certainly causes clotting disorders and each of the vaccines prevents Covid’s disease, including more severe cases,” said Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacopepiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Therefore, the benefits of the vaccine are highly likely to outweigh any risk of coagulation disorders, and the vaccine prevents other consequences of Covid, including deaths from other causes.
Evans said it was “fully reasonable” to conduct studies on vaccines and coagulation disorders, but added: “It seems a step too far in taking precautions that would prevent people from receiving vaccines that would prevent disease.”
Many high-income countries – such as the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Canada – have chosen to continue the respective launch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
“If there is clear evidence of serious or life-threatening side effects that will have important consequences,” Adam Finn, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol, said in a statement.
“However, so far it has not been and is extremely undesirable to interrupt a complex and urgent program every time people develop diseases after receiving a vaccine that may be accidental and not related to causation. Making the right call in situations like this is not easy, but having a firm hand on the cultivator is probably the most necessary, “said Finn.