AstraZeneca vaccines: which countries have banned it and what experts say about side effects

The national government announced on Tuesday that in May, nearly 4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. In the past few hours, serum has been withheld across much of Brazil due to the death of a pregnant woman who had been inoculated. Yes Slovakia joined the list of European countries which have suspended the application of the vaccine following the death of a woman suffering from thrombosis.

Is AstraZeneca vaccine safe? TN.com.ar spoke with specialists to clear the Doubts.

// Why Brazil has stopped vaccinating pregnant women with AstraZeneca and which European countries have restricted its use

“Let them hang him up in a good part of Brazil It’s logic. With new vaccines, whenever something unforeseen happens that warrants an investigation, the first thing to do is to stop the vaccination until there is more certainty. You must find out whether the vaccine was linked to this death or not “, analyze Pablo Bonvehí, head of infectology at CEMIC, president of the Vacunar Foundation and one of the vaccine trials managers Sinopharm Yes Janssen in Argentina.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is currently suspended in the United States. Denmark and Norway scrapped it entirely. France, Spain, Italy and Germany They have limited its use to older groups, although in the last few hours Angela Merkel’s government has announced that it will remove this restriction and that the development of the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company will be offered to all groups of age.

“In the United States, they have more effective vaccines and that is why AstraZeneca is not yet in use.. In Europe, some countries do not use it, but most do. I understand that today the risk of suffering from severe COVID-19 is much closer than suffering from complications with the vaccine, something which is occasional and completely rare “, adds Bonvehí, one of the infectologists advising President Alberto Fernández.

Angela Gentile, head of the epidemiology department of the Ricardo Gutiérrez children’s hospital and another of the specialists who arrived at Casa Rosada, affirms: “The WHO and the EMA (European Medicines Agency) have approved it. We must look at the epidemiological surveys of countries which have suspended its use and review what the arguments are ”.

Carlos di pietrantonio, member of the advisory board of TN, emphasizes that “The question of pregnant women, before any medication, is always very careful”. And he continues: “What is happening with this vaccine is that it has a history of thrombosis. In a pregnant woman, thrombosis of the placental vessels is very complicated. That is the risk and it is a problem with which we are careful ”.

Benefits

Published data on the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine support that reached 63% effectiveness 14 days after the first dose, and rises to 82% after 12 weeks.

// The government has announced that nearly 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in May

“Today, we have an interestingly effective protection tool even with a first dose. In Scotland, a study involving more than 5 million people vaccinated with a dose of AstraZeneca showed more than 80% effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations in people 80 years or older, ”Bonvehí emphasizes.

“It is a vaccine that has an effectiveness well over 50%, which was the floor that the WHO had set itself. Obviously, after emergency clearanceAny unusual event must be followed up, ”explains the infectious disease specialist. And advises: “If you are able to get vaccinated with AstraZeneca, it is important that you do., because the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 is much higher ”.