The use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine has been suspended in three European countries, following the death of a Danish woman who suffered blood clots after receiving the vaccine.
The three European countries who say the suspension was a “precautionary” move are Denmark, Norway and Iceland.
The blood clots had sparked a safety probe from the European drugs watchdog, this prompted at least five other European countries to halt the use of a specific batch pf the vaccine earlier in the week.
Speaking about the suspension and its impact on the country’s vaccination effort, Soren Brostrom, head of the Danish health authority said, “Right now we need all the vaccines we can get. Therefore pausing one of the vaccines is not an easy decision.”
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Danish, Austrian and EU authorities said it could not yet be concluded whether there was a link between the blood clots and the vaccine. Sweden’s medical products agency told local media it did not think there was sufficient evidence to suspend the vaccine.
Norway’s public health institute said it would follow the Danish move to halt all use of the vaccine until the Danish cases were investigated. “We are waiting for more information to see if there is a link between the vaccine and this blood clot case,” said Geir Bukholm of the National Institute of Health. Iceland was also suspending use of the vaccine, the chief epidemiologist told public broadcaster Ruv, to “err on the side of caution”.
The United Kingdom, where the vaccine was developed has not suspended the use of the vaccine. It’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it was keeping the issue under review.
It stated that with more than 11 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered in the UK, the reports of blood clots received so far are not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population.
Two clotting cases have also been reported in Austria, including one death after vaccination, but the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said late on Wednesday that there was no specific issue with the ABV5300 batch used there in Austria.
According to the EMA, 22 clotting cases have been reported among the 3 million Europeans immunised with a shot of the ABV5300 batch of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
One million does of the ABV5300 batch was sent to 17 European countries. Austria suspended use of the batch when a 49-year old woman died 10 days after vaccination because of severe blood coagulation problems. Another person who received a shot from the same vaccine batch was also hospitalised for a blood clot in the lung. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxemburg have also stopped using does from that batch.
Italy’s Aifa medicines agency has now announced that it is banning the use of doses from a batch separate from the Austrian one, ABV2856, as a precaution in response to “some serious, adverse events”. Italian reports say a 43-year-old soldier serving in Sicily died after going into cardiac arrest. No causal link had been established with the vaccine at present, Aifa has stressed
Any approved treatment, including vaccines, carries a risk of some side effects for some people, but most are usually mild and severe ones are rare.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
