Germany, France, Italy put AstraZeneca vaccine on hold even though WHO says it’s safe

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Germany, France and Italy announced on Monday that they were temporarily suspending the administration of AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots due to some reports of possible side-effects, but the World Health Organization (WHO) said there was no proven link in these cases and people should not panic.</p>
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The decision was termed “baffling” by some scientists, but the German health minister said it was “a professional decision, not a political one.”</p>
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According to a Reuters report, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that although the risk of blood clots was low, it could not be ruled out. “This is a professional decision, not a political one,” Spahn said, adding he was following a recommendation of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Germany’s vaccine regulator.</p>
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France said it was suspending the vaccine’s use pending an assessment by EMA.</p>
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“The decision taken, in conformity also with our European policy, is to suspend, out of precaution, vaccination with the AZ shot, hoping that we can resume quickly if the EMA’s guidance allows,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.</p>
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Italy said its halt was a “precautionary and temporary measure” pending EMA’s ruling.</p>
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“The EMA will meet soon to clarify any doubts so that the AstraZeneca vaccine can be resumed safely in the vaccination campaign as soon as possible,” said Gianni Rezza, Director General of Prevention at Italy’s Ministry of Health.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/astrazeneca-says-data-on-million-people-shows-vaccine-is-safe-73633.html">AstraZeneca says data on 17 million people shows vaccine is safe</a></strong></p>
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However, the suspension has come as a major setback to the vaccination campaign in the 27-nation EU amidst a surge of coronavirus cases in the region. The inoculation drive in these countries was earlier hit because supplies of the vaccines fell behind schedule in the initial stage due to production problems. There were serious differences between Britain and the EU over the delays.</p>
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Denmark and Norway stopped giving the shot last week after reporting isolated cases of bleeding, blood clots and a low platelet count. Iceland, Bulgaria, and Ireland and the Netherlands have also suspended inoculations with AstraZeneca.</p>
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Spain has decided not to use the vaccine for at least 15 days, Cadena Ser radio reported.</p>
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<strong>WHO maintains vaccine is safe</strong></p>
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Top WHO scientist Soumya Swaminathan reiterated on Monday that there have been no documented deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccines. “We do not want people to panic. There has been no association, so far, pinpointed between so-called “thromboembolic events” reported in some countries and COVID-19 shots,” she said.</p>
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WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said an advisory committee meeting on AstraZeneca would be held on Tuesday. EU medicines regulator EMA will also convene this week to assess the information gathered into whether the AstraZeneca vaccines contributed to thromboembolic events in those who were injected with the shots.</p>
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The WHO appealed to countries not to suspend vaccinations against a disease that has caused more than 2.7 million deaths worldwide. WHO Director-General Tedros said systems were in place to protect public health.</p>
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“This does not necessarily mean these events are linked to COVID-19 vaccination, but it’s routine practice to investigate them, and it shows that the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place,” he told the media briefing.</p>
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The United Kingdom said it had no concerns, while Poland said it thought the benefits outweighed any risks.</p>
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The EMA has said that as of March 10, a total of 30 cases of blood clotting had been reported among close to 5 million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca shot in the European Economic Area, which links 30 European countries.</p>
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Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said the decisions by France, Germany and others looked baffling.</p>
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“The data we have suggests that numbers of adverse events related to blood clots are the same (and possibly, in fact lower) in vaccinated groups compared to unvaccinated populations,” he said, adding that halting a vaccination programme had consequences.</p>
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“This results in delays in protecting people, and the potential for increased vaccine hesitancy, as a result of people who have seen the headlines and understandably become concerned. There are no signs yet of any data that really justify these decisions.”</p>