Health authorities in three countries namely Denmark, Norway and Iceland, temporarily suspended the use of AstraZenica vaccines for COVID-19 after reports of the formation of blood clots as in some in some individuals who had been vaccinated.
According to Global News, earlier on, Austria stopped the use of a batch of AstraZeneca jabs while a death from clotting disorders and a disease from a pulmonary embolism are being investigated.
Still, EMA, the European medicine regulator said that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed its risks and could continue to be injected.
Europe is struggling to fast-track a rollout of vaccines following delays in delivery from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, even as a spike in COVID-19 cases in the middle of more contagious variants has stimulated fresh lockdowns in nations like France and Italy.
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The AstraZenica coronavirus vaccine is administered in two doses, 12 weeks apart.
Three Countries That Suspended the COVID-19 Vaccine
The Danish health authorities announced, Denmark suspended the vaccine shots for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who was administered with an AstraZeneca vaccine from the same batched administered in Austria, had a blood clot formation and died.
Their response was also stimulated by reports of probable serious side effects from other European nations.
According to Health Minister Magnus Heunicke via Twitter, it is presently not possible to come into conclusion if there is a link between the cases.
The health official also said in his tweet that they are acting early and (the matter) should be investigated thoroughly. Temporary suspension of the vaccine in Denmark would last for 14 days, the Danish health authorities said.
Meanwhile, in Norway, director of infection prevention and control director Geir Bukholm at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said during a news conference that temporary suspension of the vaccine is a cautionary decision.
The health agency did not say though how long the vaccine would be suspended. They are waiting for information to see if there is a link between this case with blood clot formation and vaccination.
Iceland suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine while it's waiting for the results of an investigation by the EMA. In a similar situation, Italy also announced it would suspend the administration of AstraZeneca batch different from the one given in Austria.
Little Evidence Suggesting the Adverse Effect of Vaccine
According to some health experts, there was little evidence suggesting that the COVID-19 Vaccine from AstraZeneca should not be given and that the occurrences of blood associated with the rates of such cases in general.
This problem with spontaneous reports of suspected negative reactions, pharmacoepidemiology professor Stephen Evans at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said, are the massive difficulty of identifying the causal effect from an accident or unintentional occurrence.
The professor added this disease was strongly linked to blood clotting. Head of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency Phil Bryan said that reports of blood clotting so far did not go beyond what would have taken place naturally in the vaccinated population.
He elaborated that evidence does not validate that the vaccine is the cause. Over 11 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across the United Kingdom so far.
A France 24 English YouTube video below shows a related report:
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