BANGKOK (AP) – Thai Prime Minister on Tuesday received a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca as much of Asia put aside concerns about reports of blood clots in some recipients Europe, saying that so far there is no evidence linking the two.
Many countries that use the vaccine also claimed that the benefits of inoculation far outweighed the potential risks, even as some parts of Europe suspended it pending an investigation into possible side effects.
AstraZeneca has developed a manufacturing base in Asia and the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has been hired by the company to produce one billion doses of the vaccine for developing countries. Hundreds of millions more will be manufactured this year in Australia, Japan, Thailand and South Korea.
“There are people who have concerns,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. “But we have to believe in doctors, believe in our medical professionals.”
Last week, Thailand was the first country outside Europe to temporarily suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Indonesia went on to say on Monday that it was expecting a full report from the World Health Organization on possible side effects.
But the Thai health authorities decided to go ahead with AstraZeneca, with Prayuth and members of his cabinet receiving the first shots.
A large number of European countries, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain, suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday due to reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients, although the company and international regulators they say there is no evidence of the culprit of the shooting.
The EU drug regulatory agency convened a meeting on Thursday to review experts’ conclusions on AstraZeneca’s shooting and to decide whether action should be taken.
Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region also said they would go ahead with vaccination programs.
In the Philippines, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said his country would not suspend use because the benefits outweighed any risks. To date, the country has received 525.00 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the World Health Organization’s COVAX agreement and has administered 12,788 doses to date. The government and private companies have ordered several million more doses.
“There are still no clear data that shows that blood clotting was caused by AstraZeneca. If this data is published, we may also stop using AstraZeneca, “Roque said. this vaccine “.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said his country would not suspend vaccines. To date, Australia has vaccinated some 200,000 people and plans to import and manufacture 70 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
“The government clearly, unequivocally, absolutely supports the implementation of AstraZeneca, in a clear, unequivocal way, absolutely. And the reason is very simple: it will help save lives and protect them, and it does so on the basis of medical advice, ”Hunt told Parliament.
Australian chief medical officer Paul Kelly said there was no evidence so far that the vaccine would cause blood clots.
“Blood clots occur, they occur in Australia quite often,” he said. “But from my perspective, I don’t see any specific link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots, and I’m not alone in that opinion.”
By far, the biggest user of the AstraZeneca vaccine is India.
India uses two vaccines: the AstraZeneca shot made by the Serum Institute of India and another by Indian vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech, to immunize its large population. Of the more than 25.6 million people in India who have received at least one shot of a vaccine, more than 23.4 million have received the shot of AstraZeneca, according to government data.
Health officials told the Press Trust of India on Saturday that a total of 234 adverse events were reported, including 71 deaths, after receiving any of the vaccines, but no causal link had been found. . The government is now reviewing the cases for a final assessment.
The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has been hired by AstraZeneca to manufacture a billion doses of vaccine for developing countries. As of March 4, India had exported more than 48.1 million doses of vaccine, including 11.9 million doses to COVAX and 28.8 million doses as commercial exports, according to government data.
Meanwhile, health activists and medical ethics experts in India have warned that India’s systems to control any harmful side effects are too lax.
With the exception of some countries, such as Singapore and India, Asian nations have been quite slow in vaccinating their populations. Most nations, including Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand, have been relatively successful in containing the spread of COVID-19.
Thailand has asked AstraZeneca and China for enough vaccine to cover about half of its population this year and has so far managed to inoculate about 50,000 people in high-risk groups.
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Associated Press reporters Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok, Jim Gomez in Manila, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Moussa Moussa in Sydney, Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aniruddha Ghosal in New Delhi, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report