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World Health Organization experts on Wednesday recommended countries continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine, but said they were reviewing the vaccine’s safety after many countries suspended its use for health reasons.
The WHO, the European medicines regulator and AstraZeneca itself have repeatedly said the vaccine is safe after several countries reported feared links to blood clots or brain hemorrhages.
The suspensions have tainted the global vaccination campaign to end a year-long pandemic that has already killed more than 2.6 million people worldwide since it emerged in China at the end of 2019.
But WHO vaccine experts said on Wednesday that it was always best to take the AstraZeneca vaccine – adding that it was reviewing available data on the vaccine.
“The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is carefully evaluating the latest available safety data,” the United Nations health agency said in a statement.
“At this time, the WHO considers the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine to outweigh its risks and recommends that the vaccinations continue.”
Spread of the coronavirus. By Simon MALFATTO (AFP) The recommendation echoed a similar statement from the European Medicines Agency on Tuesday, advising countries to continue using the vaccine, saying there was no link to the clots.
Several countries, from France to Venezuela to Indonesia, said they would not use the vaccine after several reports of blood clots and brain hemorrhages in people who had received the vaccine.
The Anglo-Swedish jab was the subject of controversy early on in its deployment, after some countries initially recommended it for people over 65 and then downgraded, saying there was insufficient data for people in the age group who had received the vaccine.
The company later got into a row with the EU, which accused it of failing to honor vaccination contracts after the bloc’s vaccination campaign was criticized for starting spraying.
‘Crisis of the century’
The head of the European Commission threatened Wednesday to introduce export restrictions to prevent EU suppliers from sending blows outside the bloc to ensure “reciprocity” from other sellers.
Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations have been slowed for the second year in a row, with the country still facing virus restrictions. By PAUL FAITH (AFP) Ursula von der Leyen has pointed the finger at Britain, which she accuses of operating a de facto export ban to get her own vaccine at home, which London furiously denies.
She said the EU was “still waiting” for its AstraZeneca orders to leave production sites in Britain, despite the fact that 10 million doses from other manufacturers had entered the UK from the UK. EU.
“It’s an invitation to show us that there are also doses from the UK coming into the EU, so that we have reciprocity,” she said.
The warning came as the EU chief also unveiled plans for a digital certificate that could allow those vaccinated to travel freely with the block.
The pass could also apply to people with a recent negative test, or who have already been infected and are therefore presumed to have antibodies, she said, calling the pandemic “the crisis of the century.”
Governments hope vaccines will pave the way for a return to normalcy, more than a year into the pandemic that has plunged the world into a devastating recession and is subjecting much of humanity to some sort of antivirus restrictions.
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for “swift and decisive action” to stop a new wave of infections. By Sujit Jaiswal (AFP) In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were slowed for the second year in a row, with the country still facing restrictions – after the first wave of anti-virus measures shut down the party last year.
“It’s been a year now and … we seem to be back where we started,” said publican Tom Cleary, perched on a bar stool in Dublin next to a Guinness tap shaped into the shape of a Celtic harp. .
“It’s sad that there is no end in sight,” he told AFP. “I mean, will we be here the next St. Patrick’s Day with the same issues?”
New locks
Over 382 million doses of vaccine have been administered worldwide, the vast majority in richer countries while many poorer countries have yet to receive a single vaccine.
France is considering a weekend lockdown in the Paris region. By JOEL SAGET (AFP / Dossier) AstraZeneca’s vaccine, among the cheapest available, has been touted as the vaccine of choice for the poorest countries, and clot reports have had an impact beyond Europe.
The suspensions come as some countries see worrying new issues, including India where Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for “swift and decisive action” to stop a new wave of infection.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron was due to decide on Wednesday to impose a weekend lockdown on the Paris region as it faced its own third wave of infections that swelled hospital ICUs.
And Poland has announced its own three-week partial lockdown, while in the South Pacific, Papua New Guinea’s health minister has issued an urgent call for vaccines to prevent a wave of new infections.
“The community transmission is out there, and I’m pretty sure we haven’t detected a lot of it,” Jelta Wong told AFP, saying her country was “running at full speed” to prevent a new one. spread.
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