WHO says Major EU countries have stopped AstraZeneca

The use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been suspended on Monday over reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients – a large number of European countries including Germany, France, Italy and Spain, although the company and international regulators have no There is no evidence that is shot. to blame.

AstraZeneca’s formula is one of three vaccines in use on the continent. But the growing concern is another setback for the EU vaccination campaign, which suffers from shortages and other obstacles and lagged far behind campaigns in Britain and the US.

The European Union’s drug regulatory agency convened a meeting on Thursday to review the experts’ findings on the AstraZeneca shot and decide whether action needed to be taken.

By the time the ban on most schools and businesses in Europe tightens amid rising cases of COVID-19, there is an uproar.

Germany’s health minister said the decision to suspend the AstraZeneca shots was taken on the advice of the country’s vaccine regulator, the Paul Erlich Institute, calling for further investigation into seven cases of clots in the brains of vaccinated people .

“Today’s decision is a completely precautionary measure,” Jens Spahn said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country would likewise stop distribution of the vaccine by at least Tuesday afternoon. Italy also announced a temporary ban, as did Spain, Portugal and Slovenia.

Other countries that have done so in the last few days include Denmark, which was there before, as well as Ireland, Thailand, Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Congo and Bulgaria. Canada and the UK are currently standing by the vaccine.

In the coming weeks, AstraZeneca is expected to apply for US authorization for its vaccine. America now relies on shots of Pfizer, Modern and Johnson & Johnson.

AstraZeneca said 37 of the more than 17 million people who were vaccinated in the European Union and the UK from 27 countries reported blood clots. The drugmaker said that there is no evidence that the vaccine carries an increased risk of clots.

In fact, it has been stated that the occurrence of clotting would be less likely to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar to other licensed COVID-19 vaccines.

The World Health Organization and the European Union’s Agency of European Medicines have also stated that the data do not suggest the cause of the vaccine clot and that people should continue to be vaccinated.

The European Medical Agency said, “Many thousands of people develop blood clots in the European Union for different reasons.” The incidence in vaccinated people “is not higher than that observed in the general population.”

The agency said that while the investigation is ongoing, “the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, along with the associated risk of hospital and death, avoid the risks of side effects.”

Blood clots can travel through the body and cause heart attacks, strokes, and fatal blockages in the lungs. AstraZeneca reported 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis, or a type of clot that often develops in the legs, and 22 instances of pulmonary embolism, or lung clots.

The AstraZeneca shot has become an important tool in European countries in their efforts to promote their sluggish vaccine rollout. It is also the pillar of a UN-supported project known as COVAX that aims to supply COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries. This program is unaffected by European suspension.

Pfizer and Modern vaccines are also used on the European continent, and J & J’s one-shot vaccine has been authorized but not yet distributed.

A senior researcher of global health at the University of Southampton in England, Drs. Michael Head stated that there is no data yet to justify the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine and called it a decision.

“Preventing a vaccine rollout during an epidemic has consequences,” Dr. Head said. “This delays people’s safety, and is likely to increase the vaccine’s hesitation, resulting in people who remain in the headlines and understandably concerned.”

The German health minister, Mr. Spann, defended the country’s decision, saying “transparency is the most important thing for trust.” He said that both the first and second doses would be suspended.

Germany has received more than 3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and half of them have been administered so far, while Pfizer is about 7 million of the shots and about 285,000 from Modern.

German authorities have encouraged anyone who feels ill for more than four days after receiving a shot – for example, with a persistent headache or dot-shaped bruise – to seek therapy.

Maria Jesús Lamas, head of the Spanish Medicine Agency, said Spain detected its first case of clotting on Saturday. He said the ban was “not an easy decision” because it further slowed the nation’s vaccination campaign, but it was the “most prudent” approach.

Around 940,000 people have received the AstraZeneca shot in Spain.

Meanwhile, some European countries have begun re-enforcing restrictions in the bid to retake the resurgence in infection, many of them from variants of the original virus.

In Italy, 80% of children across the country could not attend classes following the rules effective on Monday. In Poland, sway restrictions were enforced on two more regions, including Warsaw. Paris could go into lockdown in just a few days as intensive care units with COVID-19 patients are being killed.

And there are increasing calls in Germany to “pull the emergency brake” in areas where cases are increasing.