A number of countries have decided to preventively suspend the use of vaccination with the AstraZeneca New Crown vaccine since last week, following the accumulation of some 30 blood clot cases with the recent AstraZeneca vaccination. On Monday, following the latest announcement of a two-week suspension of the Ascocon vaccine in the Netherlands, French President Emmanuel Macron also announced a suspension of Ascocon vaccination later in the day, at least until next Tuesday.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will issue an opinion on whether to continue using the British AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday afternoon.
French President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement at a press conference on Monday following the 26th France-Spain summit with Spanish Prime Minister Alexis Sanchez, saying, “As a precautionary measure, it has been decided to suspend vaccination against AstraZeneca and it is hoped that it will resume as soon as the EMA gives its approval.”
The suspension decision comes after the Netherlands also announced a two-week suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine, another setback for the country, which was the last to begin vaccination in Europe.
Dutch authorities cited in particular the situation that arose after the vaccination of three health care workers in Norway. According to the Norwegian Health Authority 13, three health care workers in Norway were hospitalized and treated for symptoms of bleeding, blood clots and reduced platelet counts after recently receiving the AstraZeneca New Crown vaccine, and one of them died. The chief medical officer of the FDA said, “It is not clear whether these cases are related to the vaccine, but given the severity of their conditions, we will be conducting further investigations.”
Laboratories at WHO and the UK said they believe there is no evidence that the New Crown vaccine causes the development of clotting symptoms. France has not previously banned the AstraZeneca vaccine, and Prime Minister Castet also said in a video program this weekend that confidence in the vaccine should be maintained at this stage and that the public should be encouraged to get it.
Ten European countries, including France, Italy and Germany, have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns that it could have serious side effects.
Recent Comments