The Republic of Ireland has suspended the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine based on the recommendation of The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) following further reports of serious blood clotting events in adults who have received the vaccine in Norway.
Stephen Donnelly, the Irish Minister for Health said it was a “precautionary step”.
The decision to temporarily suspend use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was based on new information from Norway that emerged late last night. This is a precautionary step. The National Immunisation Advisory Comm meets again this morning and we’ll provide an update after that
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) March 14, 2021
In Ireland, over 110,000 doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine have been administered. This represents about 20% of the administered Covid-19 vaccine.
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Austria was the to report blood clots in people receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine causing a flurry of concern, resulting in a number of European countries, including Denmark suspending the use last week, pending the outcome of investigations.
However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there was no link between the jab and an increased risk of developing a clot.
AstraZeneca in a statement to RTÉ said that an analysis of safety data covering more than 17 million doses of the vaccine administered has shown no evidence of an increased risk of the conditions concerned, and that no trends or patterns were observed in clinical trials.
“In fact, the reported numbers of these types of events for Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca are not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the unvaccinated population,” said a spokesperson.
“A careful review of all available safety data including these events is ongoing and AstraZeneca is committed to sharing information without delay.”
Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Robin Swann tweeted that Covid-19 vaccines are administered “under the expert direct of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.