March 15, 2021 – A number of nations have suspended use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to reports that the vaccine may be linked to blood clots.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain were the last countries to suspend the use of the vaccine, joining Ireland, Denmark, Thailand, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, the Congo and Bulgaria.
AstraZeneca issued a statement saying 15 cases of DVT and 22 cases of pulmonary embolism have been reported in people who received the vaccine in the UK and European Union.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said suspending the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was “a precautionary measure given their national situation”. However, both the EMA and the World Health Organization said the data did not show that the vaccine caused the blood clots and that people should continue to be vaccinated because the benefits outweigh the risk.
“Many thousands of people in the EU develop blood clots every year for a variety of reasons. The total number of thromboembolic events in vaccinated individuals does not appear to be higher than in the general population, ”the EMA said in a statement.
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AstraZeneca defended the safety of the vaccine.
“Around 17 million people in the EU and the UK have now received our vaccine and the number of blood clot cases reported in this group is less than the hundreds that would be expected in the general population,” said Ann Taylor, Chief Medical Officer said in a press release.
“The nature of the pandemic has generated heightened awareness in individual cases and we go beyond standard safety surveillance practices for approved drugs in reporting vaccination incidents to ensure public safety.”
According to AstraZeneca, clinical studies show the vaccine is about 70% effective, compared to 95% and 94% effectiveness for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, respectively. All three are used in Europe.
The World Health Organization approved AstraZeneca University Oxford’s vaccine on February 15. This enabled the United Nations to distribute cans to low and middle income countries.
AstraZeneca plans to seek emergency approval from the FDA shortly.
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