BERLIN – Germany, France, Italy and Spain on Monday became the last countries to suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients, although the company and regulators Europeans have said there is no evidence that the culprit is the culprit.
AstraZeneca is just one of three vaccines used on the continent. But the cascading number of alarming nations is another setback for the European Union’s vaccination boost, plagued by scarcity and other obstacles and lagging far behind campaigns in Britain and the United States.
The EU drug regulatory agency convened a meeting on Thursday to review experts’ findings on AstraZeneca’s shooting and decide whether action should be taken.
The rage comes as much of Europe is tightening restrictions on schools and businesses amid growing cases of COVID-19.
The German Minister of Health said that the decision to suspend the shooting of AstraZeneca was taken on the advice of the country’s vaccine regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which called for an additional investigation into seven cases of clots in the brains of people who had been vaccinated.
“Today’s decision is a purely preventative measure,” Jens Spahn said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would also suspend firing until at least Tuesday afternoon. The Italian drug regulator announced a temporary ban, less than 24 hours after saying the “alarm” about the vaccine was unwarranted and Spain said it would stop using it for two weeks while experts review its safety. .
In the coming weeks, AstraZeneca is expected to apply for US authorization of its vaccine. The US now relies on vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
AstraZeneca said there have been 37 reports of blood clots from more than 17 million people vaccinated in the EU and Britain from 27 countries. The drug maker said there is no evidence that the vaccine carries a higher risk of clots.
In fact, he said the incidence of clots is much lower than expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar to that of other licensed COVID-19 vaccines.
The World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency of the EU have also said that the data do not suggest that the vaccine has caused clots and that people should continue to be vaccinated.
“Many thousands of people develop blood clots annually in the EU for different reasons,” the European Medicines Agency said. The incidence in vaccinated people “does not seem to be higher than that seen in the general population.”
The agency said that while the investigation continues, “the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of side effects.”
Blood clots can travel through the body and cause heart attacks, strokes and deadly blockages in the lungs. AstraZeneca reported 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis, or a type of clot that often develops in the legs, and 22 cases of pulmonary embolisms or clots in the lungs.
The shooting of AstraZeneca has become a key tool in the efforts of European countries to increase their weak vaccine implementation. It is also the mainstay of a UN-backed project known as COVAX that aims to supply COVID-19 vaccines to the poorest countries. This program continues to be affected by the European suspension.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are also used on the European continent and the only J&J vaccine has been authorized but has not yet been delivered.
Last week, Denmark became the first country to temporarily stop the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. A person was said to have developed clots and died 10 days after receiving at least one dose. Other countries include Ireland, Thailand, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Congo and Bulgaria.
Canada, Britain and several smaller European countries hold the AstraZeneca vaccine for now.
Dr Michael Head, a senior researcher in global health at the University of Southampton in England, said there was still no data to justify the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine and called the decision “baffling”.
“Stopping a deployment of vaccines during a pandemic has consequences,” Head said. “This translates into delays in protecting people and the potential for increased hesitation, as a result of people who have seen the headlines and who, understandably, care.”
Spahn, the German health minister, said of the decision to stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine: “The most important thing for trust is transparency.” He said the first and second doses would be suspended.
German authorities have encouraged everyone who feels increasingly ill more than four days after receiving the shot, for example, with persistent headaches or point-shaped bruises, to seek medical attention.
Germany has received just over 3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and about half of those administered so far, compared to nearly 7 million of those shot with Pfizer and about 285,000 from Moderna.
The head of the Spanish Medicines Agency, Maria Jesús Lamas, said that Spain detected its first case of clots on Saturday. He said the ban “was not an easy decision” as it further slowed the country’s vaccination campaign, but it was the “most prudent” approach.
Almost 940,000 people in Spain have been shot by AstraZeneca.
Some European countries have begun to impose restrictions to try to counteract the resurgence of infections, many of them from variants of the original virus.
In Italy, 80% of children across the country were unable to attend classes after stricter rules became effective in more regions on Monday. In Poland, reinforced restrictions were applied to two more regions, including Warsaw. Paris could close in a matter of days because intensive care units are flooding with COVID-19 patients.
And calls are growing in Germany to “pull the emergency brake” in regions where cases are on the rise.
___
Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Maria Cheng in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, and Frances D’Emilio in Rome contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP pandemic coverage at:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak