AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was urgently halted due to “Death suspicion” ?

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was urgently halted due to “Death suspicion” ?  Out of concerns about adverse reactions such as severe blood clots, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands have also joined the ranks of suspending the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. At present, more than ten countries have announced the suspension of the use of this product.

The Dutch government said on Sunday that it will stop the vaccine until at least March 29. Ireland also said earlier in the day that it had suspended vaccination for the sake of caution.

The German government announced a moratorium on the vaccine on Monday, and the German vaccine regulator Paul Ehrlich Institute called for further investigations into adverse reactions.

The Italian Medicines Agency issued a similar announcement on Monday. French President Macron also stated that the vaccine will be suspended until the EU regulator makes a ruling.

Prior to this incident, AstraZeneca vaccine was the most economical among the vaccines that were put on the market through emergency use due to its easy storage (the shelf life is six months at 2°C-8°C) and low price (2 doses only cost 10 US dollars) ), and a high protection rate (average protection efficiency of 70%), which is known as the first choice for “developing countries”.

According to statistics from the scientific information analysis company Airfinity, as of February 2021, AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the two largest COVID-19 vaccine products in the world, and most of the orders come from low- and middle-income regions.

What’s happening?

Last week, Denmark was the first to announce the suspension of the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. The country had previously reported several incidents of blood clots after vaccination. One of them developed multiple blood clots after receiving at least one dose of AstraZeneca vaccine and died 10 days later.

The Danish health authorities have stated that they will suspend the use of the vaccine for at least two weeks and investigate related cases. However, the agency also pointed out that it is still unclear whether there is a connection between the vaccine and blood clots.

Subsequently, Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, Thailand and Congo also adopted similar measures. The Norwegian government reported on Saturday that four people under the age of 50 had extremely low platelet counts after being vaccinated with AstraZeneca, which could cause severe bleeding.

Italy also recently reported that at least three people have died of blood clots after being vaccinated with AstraZeneca. However, the country’s authorities stated that there is no evidence of a connection between the two.

On Sunday, Ireland and the Netherlands also announced that they would suspend their use. As in many other countries, the Dutch authorities stated that this was done out of caution. However, many countries still insist on using this vaccine.

Regarding the recent blood clot incident, AstraZeneca responded that the company carefully checked the data of 17 million people vaccinated in Europe and found that there is no evidence that the vaccine is available in any country, any age group, and any gender. There is a risk of increasing blood clots.

What did the regulator say?

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) claims that there is no indication that these (blood clots) conditions are caused by the vaccine. The regulatory agency said that as of March 10, a total of 5 million people in the European Union had been vaccinated with AstraZeneca and 30 cases of blood clots had been reported. “The incidence of blood clots among people vaccinated with AstraZeneca is not higher than that in the general population.”

The UK has now received 11 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, more than any other country. According to reports, about 11 people developed blood clots after being vaccinated, but none of them has been proven to be caused by the vaccine.

Some doctors pointed out that because vaccination starts from the most vulnerable groups, people who are being vaccinated are likely to have health problems themselves. Experts say this may make it difficult to confirm whether vaccination is the culprit.

Both the WHO and EMA said that while investigating, people should continue to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca because the benefits still far outweigh the risks. The British drug regulatory agency also recommends that the public continue to receive the vaccine.

Why should it be suspended?

Every time a vaccine is launched on a large scale, scientists expect reports of serious health problems and deaths. This is because when the vaccinated population reaches millions, there will always be problems randomly.

Most of these problems ultimately have nothing to do with the vaccine, but because the COVID-19 vaccine is still in the experimental stage, there may be some unforeseen side effects, so scientists must investigate all possibilities.

EMA is currently examining whether Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines promote lower platelet levels, which may cause bruising and bleeding.

(source:internet, reference only)

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