Germany, France, Italy and Spain have suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after several reports of blood clots in people who received the shot in Europe.
The flurry of suspensions on Monday came after a number of other countries, mostly in Europe, halted their rollouts late last week.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has backed the use of the vaccine and said it has seen no evidence that the shot had caused clotting.
The UN health agency is reviewing the reports of possible side effects related to the shot and urged countries not to suspend vaccinations, as its top scientist said people should not panic.
The European Union’s medicines regulator – the European Medicines Agency (EMA) – said in a statement that it has not found any evidence of links between reported thrombosis cases and the AstraZeneca shot, saying that the shot’s benefits outweigh the risks and was safe to use.
The regulator is reviewing the shot and will issue a decision on any further action on Thursday, it said.
EU members halt shots
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the country suspended the use of the shot on the advice of the national vaccine regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute.
The institute had called for further investigation into seven reported cases of clots in the brains of people who had received this vaccination.
“Today’s decision is a purely precautionary measure,” Spahn said.
France and Italy announced similar moves shortly afterwards.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the use of the AstraZeneca shot would be suspended as a precautionary measure until at least Tuesday afternoon when the European Union’s medicines regulator – the EMA – will issue its recommendation over the vaccine.
Macron did not elaborate on the reasoning behind the decision, but told a news conference he hoped France would be able to vaccinate with AstraZeneca shots again “soon”…..read more
Source: Al Jazeera
