BERLIN (AP) – Italian drug regulator on Monday announced a precautionary and temporary ban on using AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine amid new reports of people developing dangerous blood clots after the shot was fired.
Aifa, Italy, said the decision “was taken in accordance with similar measures taken by other European countries”.
He added that “the issue is currently being deepened.” The announcement followed a day after the last known death of a person in Italy shortly after receiving the vaccine. A 57-year-old clarinet teacher, who received the vaccine on Saturday evening in the northern region of Piedmont, as part of a national deployment for teachers, died at his home on Sunday morning.
Autopsies have been ordered for this death, as well as for a handful of other deaths last week from other people in Italy who had received the vaccine.
France and Germany also suspended vaccine use on Monday. AstraZeneca and global health authorities insist the shooting is safe.
THIS IS A LATEST NEWS UPDATE. The previous AP story follows below.
BERLIN (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron says France suspends use of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine as a precaution.
Macron said at a news conference Monday that French authorities have decided to suspend the shootings at least until Tuesday afternoon, when the European Medicines Agency will issue its recommendation on the vaccine. He did not delve into the reasons for the decision.
He said France hopes to be vaccinated again with AstraZeneca shots “soon”.
Other countries, including Germany on Monday, said they would temporarily stop using the vaccine as a precaution amid reports that some people developed blood clots after receiving the shot.
AstraZeneca and global health authorities insist the shooting is safe.
THIS IS A LATEST NEWS UPDATE. The previous AP story follows below.
BERLIN (AP) – Germany on Monday became the largest country in Europe by suspending the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients, although the company and European regulators said there is no evidence that the culprit is the culprit.
The country’s health minister said the decision was made on the advice of German national vaccine regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which called for a more detailed investigation into seven cases of clots reported in the brains of vaccinated people.
“Today’s decision is a purely preventative measure,” Jens Spahn said.
Several countries, starting with Denmark last week, have temporarily halted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in recent days to investigate cases of blood clots that occurred after vaccination. They include Ireland, Thailand, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, the Congo and Bulgaria.
Last week, Germany was one of several nations trapped by the shooting.
Blood clots can travel through the body and cause heart attacks, strokes and deadly blockages in the lungs.
AstraZeneca has said there is no cause for concern about its vaccine and that there have been fewer cases of thrombosis reported in those who received the shot than in the general population.
They have also said the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization that the data do not suggest that the vaccine caused the clots and that people should continue to be immunized.
Spahn, the German health minister, said of the decision to suspend AstraZeneca’s firing: “The most important thing for trust is transparency.”
Spahn said the European Medicines Agency will determine if and how the new information will affect vaccine authorization across the continent and expressed hope that the Amsterdam-based regulator will make a decision on the matter this week. .
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Germany has received just over 3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Spahn said so far about 1.6 million doses of the dam have been administered in the country.
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