European Countries Suspend Use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine

Many European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, and Spain recently suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after experts found dangerous blood clots in some vaccine recipients, according to various news sources.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, said that his country will stop dispensing the vaccine until at least next week. Italy announced a temporary ban as well, along with Spain, Portugal, and Slovenia.

Germany’s decision to suspend AstraZeneca’s vaccine was based on the country’s vaccine regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which called for further investigation into seven total cases of blood clots in the brains of individuals who have been vaccinated.

Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister, stated that the decision was a “purely precautionary measure.” 

Denmark was the first country to ban COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, followed by Ireland, Thailand, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Congo, and Bulgaria. 

Canada and Britain will still allocate the vaccine until further evidence is found. And while Finland resumed using the vaccine after a brief suspension at the end of March, it will only be given to individuals 65 years of age and older.

South Korea has similarly limited distribution of the vaccine in light of the findings out of Europe. The vaccine will no longer be distributed to people under 60 years of age there.

The decision for these countries to suspend COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca comes at the heels of a European Medicines Agency (EMA) review, which concluded that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as a rare side effect of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.

Generally, the blood clots formed two weeks after vaccination. The committee took into consideration all currently available evidence, including the advice from an ad hoc expert group.

The EMA stated that the number of thromboembolic events overall in people vaccinated with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca seems to be lower than those seen in the general population.

But the agency is reminding healthcare professionals and those receiving the vaccine to remain aware of the possibility of this side effect. And it is urging anyone who received the vaccine to seek medical assistance if they develop symptoms of blood clots and low blood platelets. 

These symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling of the leg, persistent abdominal pain, neurological symptoms, and blood spots under the skin beyond the site of injection.

Despite these findings, both the EMA and the World Health Organization (WHO) said that, so far, the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. 

But the EMA will provide an update on its investigation in the near future.

Due to the potential blood clot side effects in the vaccine, several European countries are considering mixing up COVID-19 vaccines for citizens who received the first dose of the shot.

Experts believe that because the vaccines target the same outer spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, they may work together to fight off the virus. But there is no evidence that this will be effective.

Germany was the first country to recommend using a different vaccine for a second dose and Norway will decide whether to resume using COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca or rely on alternatives in the coming weeks.

Any divergence from the authorized vaccines and doses would be considered as “off label use,” which means this move would not be approved by the regulator and leave individual countries responsible for any possible side effects.

In mid-March, AstraZeneca updated the safety of its vaccine, explaining that out of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and the UK with its vaccine, there were just 37 reports of blood clots. 

The company emphasized that there is a major lack of evidence that its vaccine causes an increased risk of blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, or thrombocytopenia in any age group, gender, or population.