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BERLIN (AP) – Spain will stop administering the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for two weeks while experts examine its safety, Health Minister Carolina Dias said on Monday.
Other countries in the European Union including France, Germany and Italy have also temporarily stopped using the AstraZeneca jab amid reports that some people have developed blood clots after receiving the vaccine. .
Dias announced the “precautionary and temporary” decision at a press conference in Madrid after consulting with Spanish regional governments.
A handful of Spain’s 17 regions had already stopped the AstraZeneca blow, despite the national government’s earlier insistence that there was no evidence to justify a change in vaccine policy.
AstraZeneca and world health authorities insist the shot is safe.
Spain has only given the blow to people under the age of 55, saying its effectiveness on the elderly is unproven.
THIS IS A BRIEF UPDATE. AP’s previous story follows below.
BERLIN (AP) – Germany, France and Italy on Monday became the last countries to suspend use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients, although the company and European regulators said there was no evidence the vaccine was to blame.
AstraZeneca’s formula is just one of three vaccines used on the continent. But the move marks another setback for vaccine deployment in the European Union, which has been plagued by supply shortages. and other obstacles and is well behind the campaigns in Britain and the United States
The EU’s drug regulatory agency’s safety committee called a meeting on Thursday to review the experts’ findings on the AstraZeneca vaccine and decide whether action needs to be taken.
The fury comes as much of Europe tightens restrictions on schools and businesses amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Germany’s health minister said the decision to withhold AstraZeneca injections was taken on the advice of the country’s vaccine regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which called for a further investigation into seven reported cases of clots in the brains of vaccinated people.
“Today’s decision is a purely precautionary measure,” said Jens Spahn.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said his country will also suspend shooting until at least Tuesday afternoon. He said France hoped to resume the formula soon.
The Italian drug regulator also announced a provisional and preventive ban, less than 24 hours after declaring that the “alarm” regarding the vaccine “was not justified”.
AstraZeneca said there have been 37 reports of blood clots in more than 17 million people vaccinated in the 27 countries of the European Union and in Britain. The drugmaker said there was no evidence the vaccine carries an increased risk of clots.
In fact, he said the incidence of clots is much lower than one would naturally expect in a general population of this size and is similar to that of other licensed COVID-19 vaccines.
The World Health Organization and the EU’s European Medicines Agency also said the data does not suggest the vaccine caused the clots and that people should continue to be vaccinated.
“Several thousand people develop blood clots every year in the EU for different reasons,” said the European Medicines Agency. The incidence in those vaccinated “does not appear to be higher than that observed in the general population”.
The agency said that as the investigation continued, “the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of side effects. “
Blood clots can pass through the body and cause heart attacks, strokes, and fatal blockages in the lungs. AstraZeneca has reported 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis, or a type of clot that often develops in the legs, and 22 cases of pulmonary embolism or clots in the lungs.
AstraZeneca firing has become a key tool in European countries’ efforts to boost their slow vaccine launches. It is also the backbone of a UN-backed project known as COVAX, which aims to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the poorest countries.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are also in use in mainland Europe, and Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine has been licensed but not yet delivered.
In the United States, which relies on the Pfizer, Moderna and J&J vaccines, AstraZeneca should seek authorization at any time.
Denmark last week became the first country to temporarily halt use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in recent days. He said one person developed clots and died 10 days after receiving at least one dose. The other countries include Ireland, Thailand, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Congo and Bulgaria.
Last week, Germany and France were among the nations that stuck it out, while Italy has only suspended a specific batch of vaccine. Britain and Canada are supporting AstraZeneca’s vaccine for now.
Dr Michael Head, a senior researcher in global health at the University of Southampton in England, said there were no data yet to justify the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine and called the decision “puzzling”.
“Stopping the deployment of a vaccine during a pandemic has consequences,” Head said. “This leads to delays in protecting people and the potential for increased reluctance to immunize, due to people who have seen the headlines and are understandably concerned.”
Spahn, the German Minister of Health, said of the decision to suspend the shooting of AstraZeneca: “The most important thing for trust is transparency.” He said the first and second doses would be affected by the suspension.
German authorities have encouraged anyone who feels increasingly ill more than four days after receiving the vaccine – for example, with persistent headaches or dot-like bruises – to see a doctor.
Germany has received just over 3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and about half of these have been administered so far, compared to nearly 7 million from Pfizer vaccine and around 285,000 from Moderna.
Europe, meanwhile, is reimposing restrictions in a bid to counter a resurgence of infections, many of which come from variants of the original virus.
In Italy, 80% of the country’s children were unable to attend classes after stricter rules came into effect in more regions on Monday. In Poland, increased restrictions were applied to two other regions, including Warsaw. Paris could go into lockdown in a few days as intensive care units are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
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Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Maria Cheng in London and Frances D’Emilio in Rome contributed to this report.
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https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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