EU may stop buying adenovirus vector vaccines from next year

EU may stop buying adenovirus vector vaccines from next year.  Italian media: The EU may stop buying AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and other adenovirus vector vaccines from next year.

On the 14th local time, according to the Italian “News” from the Italian Ministry of Health, after consultation with the leaders of EU member states, the European Commission may decide to purchase AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson from next year after the expiration of this year’s procurement contract. Viral vector COVID-19 vaccine, and only use ribonucleic acid vaccine. In response, a spokesperson for the European Commission said that all options in 2022 are possible and will not comment on specific contract issues.

According to reports, after the occurrence of rare side effects that cause blood clots, like the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Italian government intends to limit the age of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to over 60 years old. Italian Health Minister Speranza said that he would maintain communication with the European Medicines Agency and evaluate Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but Italy should use Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Magrini, director general of the Italian Medicines Agency, believes that Johnson & Johnson vaccine and AstraZeneca vaccine have many similarities, and it is possible and reasonable to adopt corresponding restrictions on their use. But the benefits of vaccination still outweigh the risks.

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After the adenovirus vector vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca was confirmed to cause thrombosis after vaccination, the world attaches great importance to adenovirus vector technology vaccines, and many countries have suspended the vaccination of AstraZeneca’s adenovirus vector vaccine.

On April 13, local time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration issued a joint statement stating that in view of the fact that the United States has reported 6 cases of rare and severe thrombosis in women aged 18 to 48 due to the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, it is recommended to suspend vaccination. Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.

South African Health Minister Mukez held a press conference on the evening of the 13th to announce that the South African government has decided to suspend the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 pneumonia vaccine.

It was reported on April 13th local time that the Australian Federal Government issued a statement stating that it has decided not to purchase Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. The reason is that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is the same as AstraZeneca’s vaccine, both of which use adenovirus vector technology. Australian Federal Minister of Health (Greg Hunt) said that Johnson & Johnson is another vaccine technology with AstraZeneca and currently does not recommend that the government purchase any additional adenovirus vector vaccines at this time. “

This is the AstraZeneca vaccine taken at the hospital in Coria, Cáceres, Spain on March 12. Spanish Minister of Health Carolina Darias confirmed on March 15 that Spain has decided to suspend the use of AstraZeneca vaccine. Xinhua News Agency.
This is the AstraZeneca vaccine taken at the hospital in Coria, Cáceres, Spain on March 12. Spanish Minister of Health Carolina Darias confirmed on March 15 that Spain has decided to suspend the use of AstraZeneca vaccine. Xinhua News Agency.

More than a month ago, a blood clot was suspected after the AstraZeneca vaccine was vaccinated. Although the European Medicines Agency did not recommend that the vaccine be suspended, the subsequent recurrence of blood clots and deaths after vaccination aroused the attention of researchers. After more than a month of scientific demonstration, the European Medicines Agency issued a statement on April 7 stating that the occurrence of blood clots and low platelets after vaccination should be classified as a rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

On April 9th, the New England Journal of Medicine published two important studies at the same time, analyzing patients who developed thrombosis and thrombocytopenia after receiving the adenovirus COVID-19 vaccine. These two studies reported this thrombus for the first time. The underlying mechanism of formation.

Researchers believe that the AstraZeneca vaccine may induce some people’s immune system to produce an antibody against platelet factor 4 (PF4), which activates platelets to trigger the coagulation cascade, leading to thrombosis. The researchers also believe that the thrombocytopenic blood coagulation disorder induced by the AstraZeneca vaccine is similar to the rare side effect caused by the blood anticoagulant heparin, and is similar to the heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, and proposed a new one. Medical term to name this phenomenon-vaccine-associated coagulative immune thrombocytopenia.

Although there have been more and more cases of thrombosis after adenovirus vector vaccination, the European Medicines Agency believes that the benefits of AstraZeneca vaccine still outweigh the risks.

However, many countries still restrict the use of AstraZeneca vaccine in young people. Germany only uses the vaccine in people over 60 years old, and France uses the vaccine in people over 55 years old. The UK recommends providing other vaccines to people under 30 years of age. On April 7, the British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency stated that it had investigated at least 79 strokes and blood clotting incidents related to the vaccine, of which at least 18 were fatal.

Wang Yuge, a virus expert at the National Institutes of Health, believes that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has been vaccinated in the United States with more than 6 million doses, so the incidence of this adverse event is less than one in a million. According to the above-mentioned article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 31 cases of related thrombus were found in 2.7 million AstraZeneca vaccinators. Therefore, the occurrence of this thrombus was close to one in 90,000.

Regarding the safety problems of adenovirus vector vaccines, some scientists believe that from the perspective of risk and benefit, there is still a net benefit to most people. However, some experts believe that the safety of vaccines for healthy people still needs further research to minimize the damage to health.

(source:internet, reference only)

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