The director general of Italy’s medicine authority has set the cat among the pigeons by stating that the decision to suspend the use of Britain’s AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine by the Big 3 European nations–France, Germany and Italy– is a “political one” as the vaccine is safe.
The WHO has also taken the stand that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and some top scientists have said that the decision to suspend use of the vaccine is “baffling.” forcing the German health minister to clarify that it was “a professional decision, not a political one.”
Also read: Germany, France, Italy put AstraZeneca vaccine on hold even though WHO says it’s safe
This has given rise to lingering doubts over the issue as there were serious differences between the UK and European nations over the delay in providing the AstraZeneca vaccine. AstraZeneca had maintained that the delay in the delivery schedule had taken place due production problems. But the European countries were very upset as their vaccination drive was lagging behind the UK and the USA.
“We got to the point of a suspension because several European countries, including Germany and France, preferred to interrupt vaccinations… to put them on hold in order to carry out checks. The choice is a political one,” Nicola Magrini told daily la Repubblica in an interview, according to a Reuters report from Rome.
Magrini said that the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe and that the benefit to risk ratio of the jab is “widely positive”. There have been eight deaths and four cases of serious side-effects following vaccinations in Italy, he explained.
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, Reuters reported.
France said it was suspending the vaccine’s use pending an assessment by EMA.
“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.
Also read: Thailand PM takes AstraZeneca shot, Australia too going ahead with vaccine
Italy said its halt was a “precautionary and temporary measure” pending EMA’s ruling.
“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.
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.
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.
Spain has decided not to use the vaccine for at least 15 days, Cadena Ser radio reported.
Also read: AstraZeneca says data on 17 million people shows vaccine is safe
WHO maintains vaccine is safe
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.
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.
The United Kingdom said it had no concerns, while Poland said it thought the benefits outweighed any risks.
India connection
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.
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.
