The Canadian government has arranged for 325 pharmacies to offer the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged 60 to 64 who have made appointments for the vaccine starting Friday (March 12); however, Denmark, Norway and Iceland announced on Thursday (11) that they were suspending the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, mainly due to reports of blood clots following the vaccine. The main reason is reports of blood clots after vaccination. Canadian health authorities said they are following the investigation of the report.
Canadian health authorities said Thursday they are closely following a European investigation into the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of blood clots following the vaccination, but said there is no evidence that the clots were caused by the vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency issued a statement Thursday saying, “The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be used.” Meanwhile, it continues to evaluate blood clot cases more carefully and said the 30 clot patients out of more than 5 million patients who received the vaccine are consistent with the normal rate of clots in the general population.
Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, said Health Canada is continually reviewing data on the vaccine, including ongoing investigations in Europe, as a normal part of the post-approval process, CTV reported.
He said that unless Health Canada reverses its current decision that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks, he will vaccinate people as planned.
Some other experts say millions of AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered elsewhere, including in the United Kingdom, and there have been no reports of blood clots or related problems caused by the vaccine.
The first half-million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in Canada arrived in the provinces this week; the vaccine was manufactured in India, while the vaccine reported to have problems was made in a European plant.
AstraZeneca vaccine continues to be administered in Ontario
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Thursday that the “safety and efficacy” of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved by Health Canada and that Ontario will continue to use the vaccine in pharmacies.
We have no plans to discontinue the AstraZeneca vaccine at this Time,” she said. However, we will follow up on the survey and work with Health Canada to determine if any changes need to be made to Ontario’s vaccine program.”
Currently, people in Ontario between the ages of 60 and 64 are lining up for appointments to get vaccine shots, and pharmacies across the province are beginning to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to Ontarians.
Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said pharmacies are expected to run out of 165,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in a few weeks, depending on their capacity and the willingness of the population.
AstraZeneca vaccine suspended in at least 9 European countries
At least nine European countries are suspending the use of AstraZeneca vaccine, some completely, while others are using it only in specific batches pending the results of further investigations into the emergence of blood clots.
Denmark, Norway and Iceland were the latest European countries to announce a temporary suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday, but Danish health authorities said the same day that there was no evidence yet that the vaccine was causing health problems. Denmark will suspend the AstraZeneca vaccine for 14 days for the public.
After Denmark announced the decision, Norway decided to follow suit by suspending the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but also said there was no proven evidence.
Iceland also announced Thursday that it was suspending the AstraZeneca vaccine, and is now awaiting the results of an investigation by the European Medicines Agency.
Recently, a 49-year-old Austrian woman died after developing a severe clotting disorder following an AstraZeneca vaccination, and another 35-year-old woman suffered a pulmonary embolism. The Austrian Ministry of Health said on Sunday (March 7) that it has suspended a batch of AstraZeneca Coronary Vaccine and will investigate the deaths.
Subsequently, a death after an AstraZeneca vaccination occurred in Sicily, Italy, where a 43-year-old soldier who received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 9 died of cardiac arrest at Home on the morning of March 10. The Italian Drug Administration decided to suspend the use of the same batch of AstraZeneca vaccine.
It is uncertain whether there is a necessary link between the vaccine and the formation of blood clots, and the European Medicines Agency has launched a related investigation.
The European Medicines Agency said that four countries, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia, have stopped vaccinating with the batch of AstraZeneca vaccine while it investigates the issue of the vaccine and blood clots.
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