After several European countries suspended the roll-out of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine amid reports that showed formation of blood clots in a few recipients, the World Health Organization on Friday, 12 March, said that there was no reason to stop using the vaccine.
WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told AFP, “We should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine. There is no indication to not use it,” she said.
After Denmark and Norway temporarily suspended the vaccine’s use, Canada on Thursday, 11 March, said that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was safe, Reuters reported.
The Canadian health department reassured its citizens that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks. “Health Canada is aware of reports of adverse events in Europe following immunisation with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine,” the statement read.
It also said there was no indication that the vaccine caused these events. The statement further read that no adverse events related to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been reported to Health Canada or the Public Health Agency of Canada till now.
Last week, Serum Institute of India had sent out 5,00,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Canada. Around 1.5 million more doses of the vaccine are expected to be sent by May.
Denmark Suspends Use of AstraZeneca Vaccine
The health authorities in Denmark had temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution after some patients developed blood clots since receiving the jab. One of them died, digital news publisher The Local reported.
Apart from Denmark, Norway and Iceland have also temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The Danish decision came days after Austria suspended the use of a particular batch of the drug because a woman died within 10 days of taking it. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Luxembourg have also stopped using that batch, BBC reported.
Cases of Blood Clots
The move comes “following reports of serious cases of blood clots among people vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine”, the Danish Health Authority said in a statement.
But it cautiously added that “it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots”. Nevertheless, it asked the regional authorities in charge of the vaccine’s roll-out to stop using the AstraZeneca jab until further notice, the report said.
The report added that there was “good evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective”, but it would consult with the Danish medicines agency in two weeks on the matter.
(With inputs from Reuters, BBC, IANS and The Local, AFP)
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