Warsaw, Poland (AP) – Countries across Europe resumed vaccination with the AstraZeneca shot on Friday as leaders tried to reassure their populations, it is certain after brief suspensions questioning a vaccine that is crucial to end the coronavirus pandemic.
British and French prime ministers have rolled up their sleeves, as have a handful of other high-level politicians across the continent, where inoculation drives have repeatedly stumbled and now several countries are re-imposing blockades as infections increase. in many places.
Britain is a notable exception: the outbreak has slowed and the country has been widely praised for its vaccination campaign, although this week it announced it would also be affected by supply shortages.. The UK also never stopped using AstraZeneca. By contrast, European Union countries have struggled to rapidly deploy vaccines, and the vaccine pause by many this week only added to those problems.
The suspensions came after notification of blood clots at some vaccine recipients, though international health agencies urged governments to continue firing, saying the benefits outweighed the risks. On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency said the vaccine does not increase the overall incidence of blood clots, although a link to a small number of rare clots could not be ruled out.
The measure paved the way for a number of European countries, including Italy, France and Germany, to start using the vaccine again.
“It is clear that the revocation of the suspension is a great relief for us because we must strongly accelerate the vaccination campaign,” said Dr. Giovanni Rezza, head of prevention at the Italian Ministry of Health.
Rezza told reporters in Rome that Italy only reluctantly stopped the campaign with great caution, but that it had to recover it quickly to make up for lost time.
He said Italy needed more than double the 200,000 vaccines a day the country had received before the suspension to achieve its goal of inoculating 80% of the population in September.
Health experts have expressed concern that, even if the suspensions were brief, they could still undermine confidence in the vaccine at a time when many people are already hesitant to take a shot that developed so quickly. While many EU countries have struggled with these reluctances, it is even more a concern for developing nations. who may have no other vaccine options. AstraZeneca, which is cheaper and easier to store than many rival products, is the backbone of vaccination actions in many poorer countries.
Amidst these concerns, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson received a stroke from AstraZeneca at St. John’s Hospital. Thomas in south London, where last April he was treated in intensive care by COVID-19.
“I literally didn’t feel anything and so it was really good, very fast and I can’t recommend it too much,” Johnson, 56, said as he left the hospital after his blow. “Everyone, when you get the jab notification, go get it. It’s the best for you, the best for your family and for everyone.”
Other people who received the shooting included French Prime Minister Jean Castex, Slovenian President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Jansa and a governor of the German state. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said he would get the AstraZeneca shot when the time came for his age group and said his eldest son had received him in London.
“So there is absolutely no doubt” about his safety, Draghi, 73, told a news conference.
Castex, 55, said he stepped up because he wanted to show full confidence in the shot, though he is not yet eligible under French rules. Former Pasteur Institute director Patrick Berche told BFMTV the move was “a very nice gesture.”
France restarted the vaccine with some restrictions that seemed aimed at further reducing the risk of potential side effects.
Other countries resuming their use of firearms with AstraZeneca are Bulgaria, a nation of 7 million where only 355,000 people have been vaccinated with a first dose so far, the lowest number in the European Union.
But not everyone rushed back to the vaccine. Sweden, Norway and Denmark, which was the first country to take a break with AstraZeneca, said they would wait another week before deciding whether to resume. And Finland decided to stop the vaccine for the first time on Friday, saying it would suspend use for a week while investigating two suspected cases of blood clots.
While there are doubts that the break has sown long-lasting doubts, some were relieved that the vaccine was available again on Friday.
Marvin Brandl, 28, an emergency paramedic, was part of a group of health workers who were shot in the German city of Cologne. He expressed confidence in all vaccines that have been approved by the EU.
“Last night, when I learned that vaccination was again possible, I made the appointment immediately and was satisfied and grateful to be able to get vaccinated,” Brandl said.
Authorities in Berlin said two large vaccination centers were reopening on Friday and that people who canceled appointments this week will be able to get the vaccine over the weekend without getting a new one.
After several setbacks in the launch of the vaccine, EU governments want to fire shots again, especially as infections and hospitalizations increase dramatically in many countries, with many officials saying they are already entering or already in a ” third wave “.
Infection rates in Germany are “now clearly exponential,” said Lars Schaade, deputy head of the Robert Koch Institute. Officials have warned that the country could re-adopt stricter closure measures for Easter.
In France, the government withdrew to order a harsh blockade for Paris and several other regions, instead of announcing a mosaic of new restrictions despite an increasingly alarming situation in hospitals with an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients .
In Poland, there are more people taking respiratory tract than at any time since the start of the pandemic and children represent a higher percentage of those hospitalized. Officials blame the rise on a more transmissible mutation first identified in Britain that is spreading like wildfire across the country and say the worst is yet to come. The Central European nation is preparing to enter a new national closure on Saturday, albeit less restrictive than the one imposed a year ago.
Meanwhile, Hungary extended the blockade restrictions for another week, as a sharp rise breaks records every day, although the country has the second highest vaccination rate in the EU after Malta.
In Bosnia, which is not in the EU, growing infections caused a closure in the capital on Friday. The 3.3 million-nation Balkan nation has not yet begun mass vaccination of its citizens and has kept relaxed measures and ski resorts open throughout the winter season.
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Associated Press writers from across Europe contributed to this report.
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