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astrazeneca vaccine side effects

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Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The Netherlands has become the latest country to halt use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine over concerns about possible side effects.

The WHO and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) say there is no indication of a link between the vaccine and reports of blood clots.

Eight countries have so far fully suspended the AstraZeneca vaccinations.

The WHO told Reuters it was important that vaccination campaigns continued.

About 17 million people in the EU and the UK have received a dose of the vaccine, with fewer than 40 cases of blood clots reported as of last week, AstraZeneca said.

Experts say the number of blood clots reported after the vaccine were no more than those typically reported within the general population.

However, the Dutch government said its suspension, which will last until at least March 29, was a precaution.

Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria and Iceland have paused inoculations with AstraZeneca vaccine, while the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia have delayed the start of their AstraZeneca rollouts. Several European countries, including Italy and Austria, have suspended the use of certain batches of the drug as a precautionary measure.

Thailand announced that it would start using the vaccine on March 16, following a brief delay to the rollout over safety concerns.

The EMA – which is currently carrying out a review into incidents of blood clots – said the vaccine could continue to be administered.

In a statement, the Dutch government said it was acting out of precaution following reports from Denmark and Norway of possible serious side effects.

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Dutch drug watchdog Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb later said that 10 cases of possible adverse side effects had been reported in the Netherlands, according to Reuters.

“We can’t allow any doubts about the vaccine,” Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said.

“We have to make sure everything is right, so it is wise to pause for now.”

Speaking on an early morning talk show on March 15, Hugo de Jonge said he hoped the suspension would last “no longer than a couple of weeks”, adding: “We need vaccines to be able to put this nasty period behind us.”

The government’s decision will now cause delays in the Dutch vaccination program.

The authorities had pre-ordered 12 million doses of AstraZeneca, with nearly 300,000 shots scheduled in the next two weeks.

AstraZeneca said there was no evidence of an increased risk of clotting due to the vaccine.

It said that across the EU and UK there had been 15 events of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) – a blood clot in a vein – and 22 events of pulmonary embolism – a blood clot that has entered the lungs – reported among those vaccinated.

AstraZeneca said these figures were “much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar across other licensed Covid-19 vaccines”.

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Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Denmark has temporarily suspended use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine as a precaution, after reports of a small number of blood clots and one death.

According to the Danish health authority, it was too early to say whether there was a link to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Austria earlier stopped using a batch of the drug, prompting the EU medicines agency (EMA) to say there was no indication the vaccine caused blood clots.

AstraZeneca says its safety has been studied extensively in clinical trials.

A spokesperson said: “Patient Safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca.

“Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.”

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Peer-reviewed data confirmed it had been “generally well tolerated”, the statement added.

Denmark’s decision came days after Austria suspended use of a particular batch of the drug because a woman died 10 days after taking it. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxemburg have also stopped using the batch.

Danish authorities said they were pausing use of the vaccine for 14 days in what Health Minister Magnus Heunicke called a “precautionary measure”.

Although no link had been established, he said “we must respond in a timely and careful manner” until a conclusion was reached.

The decision to put the vaccine on hold in Denmark and Austria is a setback for a European vaccination campaign that has stuttered into life, partly due to delays in delivery of the AstraZeneca drug.

The Danish authority said it was not an easy decision as it was during the biggest and most important rollout in the country’s history.

The EMA said its safety committee was reviewing the Austrian case, but made clear that “there is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine”.

The number of “thromboembolic events in vaccinated people is no higher than that seen in the general population”, it added.