BERLIN (AP) – Germany, France, Italy and Spain became the last countries on Monday to suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients, although the company and European regulators have said no evidence of the shooting is to blame.
AstraZeneca is just one of three vaccines used on the continent. But the cascading number of alarming countries equates to another setback for European Union vaccination, which has been hit by shortages and other obstacles and lags far behind campaigns in Britain and the US
The EU drug regulatory agency convened a meeting on Thursday to review experts’ findings on the AstraZeneca vaccine 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 vaccine’s “alarm” was “not justified.” And Spain said it will stop using the vaccine for two weeks while experts review its safety.
AstraZeneca said there have been 37 reports of blood clots from more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union from 27 countries and in Britain. 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 slowdown in vaccine deployment. It is also the mainstay of a UN-backed project known as COVAX that aims to bring COVID-19 vaccines to the poorest countries.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are also used on the European continent and the unique Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been authorized but has not yet been delivered.
In the United States, which depends on the Pfizer, Moderna and J&J vaccines, AstraZeneca is expected to apply for authorization in the coming weeks.
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.
Britain and Canada keep 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 understandably worried.”
Spahn, the German health minister, said of the decision to suspend AstraZeneca’s firing: “The most important thing for trust is transparency.” He said both the first and second doses would be affected by the suspension.
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 last Saturday. He said the ban “was not an easy decision” as it further slowed the national vaccination campaign, but it was the “most prudent” approach.
Almost 940,000 people in Spain have been shot by AstraZeneca.
Meanwhile, Europe is once again imposing restrictions on trying to combat 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.
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Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Maria Cheng in London, and Frances D’Emilio in Rome contributed to this report.
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