Denmark, Norway and Italy, announced today (Thursday) that they are halting AstraZeneca’s vaccination campaign, following reports of blood clots forming in some vaccinators.
The decision came after Austria stopped using the vaccine while investigating deaths due to blood clots. In addition, Denmark has ruled out stopping immunization in AstraZeneca for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman died as a result of blood clots forming after receiving the vaccine.
The Danish Minister of Health tweeted on the subject: “At the moment it is not possible to conclude if there is a link. It should be thoroughly investigated.”
“This is a cautious decision,” said Geir Bockholm, director of infection prevention and control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), at a press conference.
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Corona vaccine, illustration (Photo: Reuters)Italy has also announced that it will suspend the use of the dose used in Austria, after two men died in Sicily after receiving the vaccine. This is despite the fact that some health experts in the country have said that there is no evidence to suggest that the use of the vaccine should be stopped and that blood clotting cases are commensurate with the rate of these cases among the general population.
“This is a particularly cautious approach based on some isolated reports in Europe,” said Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacopidemiology at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London. ” “Corona disease is very much linked to blood clotting.”
Astra-Zanka’s response to Reuters said that “its vaccine safety has been extensively tested in human trials and peer-reviewed data, and that there have been no serious side effects.” In addition the company stated that they are in contact with the Austrian authorities and fully support their investigation.