Thailand PM takes AstraZeneca shot, Australia too going ahead with vaccine

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Australia and Thailand are going ahead with the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, authorities said on Tuesday, even though several European countries paused administering the vaccine. </p>
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Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was the first person to be inoculated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the country on Tuesday after Thailand suspended its use on Friday.  “Today I’m boosting confidence for the general public,” the 67-year-old PM Prayuth told journalists.</p>
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Germany, France, Italy, Spain and  Portugal joined other European countries on Monday in temporarily suspending vaccinations with AstraZeneca shots after reports of isolated cases of bleeding, blood clots and low platelet count in some of the nations.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/germany-france-italy-put-astrazeneca-vaccine-on-hold-even-though-who-says-it-s-safe-73969.html">Germany, France, Italy put AstraZeneca vaccine on hold even though WHO says it’s safe</a></strong></p>
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“While the European Medicines Agency is investigating these events, it has reinforced its view that the AstraZeneca vaccine is successful in protecting against COVID-19 and should continue to be used in the rollout,” Australia Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said in an emailed statement.</p>
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Kelly said the government remained confident in the vaccine as there was currently no evidence that it caused blood clots although the side-effects reported would be investigated as a “precautionary measure”.</p>
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Some other countries, including the United Kingdom and Poland, continue to use the vaccine.</p>
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The majority of Australia’s 25 million people will be administered the AstraZeneca vaccine and authorities have secured nearly 54 million doses, with 50 million to be produced locally from the end of March.</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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Australia began its nationwide immunisation drive last month, much later than many other countries, and began first vaccinations using the AstraZeneca vaccine last week.</p>
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AstraZeneca’s shot was among the first and cheapest to be developed and launched at volume since the coronavirus was first identified in central China at the end of 2019, and is set to be the mainstay of vaccination programmes in much of the developing world.</p>
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The AstraZeneca vaccine developed in collaboration with Oxford University is also being produced at the Serum Institute of India in Pune. It is one of the two vaccines propelling India’s vaccination campaign which is in full swing with a target of inoculating 300 million people by August. Indian is also using Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine which is an indigenously developed product.</p>
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The WHO said its advisory panel was reviewing reports related to the shot and would release its findings as soon as possible. But it said it was unlikely to change its recommendations, issued last month, for widespread use, including in countries where the South African variant of the virus may reduce its efficacy.</p>
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The EMA has also said there was no indication the events were caused by the vaccination and that the number of reported blood clots was no higher than seen in the general population.</p>
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AstraZeneca said earlier it had conducted a review covering more than 17 million people vaccinated in the EU and the UK which had shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.</p>
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Long-awaited results from AstraZeneca’s 30,000-person U.S. vaccine trial are now being reviewed by independent monitors to determine whether the shot is safe and effective, a top U.S. official said on Monday.</p>