New Delhi (NVI): Health authorities in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland have suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after cases of blood clots were reported, with Italy suspending another batch of vaccines following fatalities in Sicily.
The suspension comes after a 49-year-old nurse in Austria died from a clot on Monday shortly after taking the AstraZeneca vaccine. A few similar cases were reported across the continent, despite millions of doses being administered safely, Daily Mail reported.
However, there is no indication that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is linked to an increased risk of blood clots, the European Union’s (EU) medicines regulator has stated.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said that the number of cases in vaccinated people was no higher than in the general population.
Denmark has announced a two-week suspension as a ‘precautionary measure’.
Furthermore, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health issued a statement saying the country had also chosen to “pause” inoculations following a report of a death in Denmark as a result of a blood clot.
Iceland has also suspended the use of the vaccine, the chief epidemiologist told public broadcaster Ruv, to “err on the side of caution”.
Meanwhile, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg in Europe have suspended the use of the same batch of vaccines given to the nurse in Austria, ABV5300. It was sent to 17 European countries, the Daily Mail added.
On Thursday, Italian medicines agency AIFA also banned the use of another batch of AstraZeneca vaccines. The agency said it was responding to “some serious adverse events” taking place around the time of vaccinations from batch ABV2856.
In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there was no evidence the vaccine had caused problems, and people should still go and get vaccinated when asked to do so.
The decision to temporarily suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s jab has come as a setback for a European vaccination campaign that has stuttered into life, partly due to delays in delivery of the drug.
The company has also faced resistance in the bloc, where regulatory bodies in member countries have been slow or hesitated to recommend the vaccine in people over the age of 65, citing a lack of data.
-CHK
