Norwegian experts announced on Thursday that they believe that the immune response of the AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine is the cause of thrombosis suffered by three health workers in their country.
The medical team at Oslo University Hospital examining these three cases has linked the controversial AstraZeneca formula to cases of thrombosis reported in several vaccinated people, events that have led to the suspension of the use of this preparation in several European countries.
“We have made several findings that can explain the clinical evolution of patients. These findings support our hypothesis that patients had a strong immune response that triggered the formation of antibodies, which in turn could activate platelets and cause thrombi. press conference Pål André Holme, head of the medical team.
The three workers, all under the age of 50, were hospitalized over the weekend with an unusual clinical picture that included a low number of blood platelets, clots in small and large blood vessels and bleeding, similar to that found in several cases in other European countries., which have temporarily suspended the application of the vaccine.
Norwegian authorities on Monday notified the death of a woman without previous illnesses the day before one of them, while in Denmark another woman under the age of 60 died with similar symptoms.
“I see no other possible explanation at this time,” said Holme, head of blood diseases at Norway’s main hospital, noting that specific antibodies have been found in other medical cases before and all caused by drugs.
Holme, who reported that he was still investigating whether patients had underlying diseases, said they had no direct contact with the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is due to report the results of its investigations into the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday.
Denmark was the first European country to suspend the use of the vaccine a week ago, a decision which was joined by many European countries, including Norway, Germany, Spain, France and Italy.
However, Holme declined to comment on whether it should ban the use of the vaccine in Norway and stressed that this decision is up to the health authorities.