London Sweden became the latest on Tuesday to join a growing list of countries that have suspended use of the Oxford AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. More than a dozen countries, most of them in Europe, have temporarily stopped using the vaccine as a precaution after a small number of people developed blood clots after receiving the injection.
But experts in the UK and elsewhere in Europe are calling it a disaster for the already delayed introduction of vaccines to the continent. COVID-19 infections are once again spreading exponentially in some parts of Europe, even leading to new nationwide lockdowns.
UK drug regulators and AstraZeneca executives stress that there is no link between the Oxford University-developed vaccine and a higher incidence of blood clots.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company that partnered with the prestigious university to produce the drug has said a review of 17 million people in the UK and Europe who received the vaccine found that fewer than 40 developed blood clots – ‘even lower than you would expect to find in the general population, ‘said AstraZeneca.
The incidence of clotting is comparable to that with all vaccines, CBS News found, including the Moderna and Pfizer formulas currently used in the US.
Denmark, Iceland and Norway were among the first to discontinue use of the vaccine developed by Oxford University on March 11. The next day, Thailand abruptly slowed down the vaccine just before it was due to roll out. That decision was reversed on Tuesday when the Thai prime minister received his first dose of the vaccine and urged his fellow Thais to do the same.
Bulgaria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain have also decided to stop using the vaccine, with some saying they would at least wait for the European Medicines Agency – the EU’s pharmaceutical regulator – to issue new guidelines on how to vaccine that has been approved for weeks. ago. The agency’s expert panel met on Tuesday to review data on clots.
Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Luxembourg have all suspended the use of at least one batch of AstraZeneca vaccines supplied to different countries.
“No proof”
The drug’s maker was adamant that there is no data to suggest a link between the vaccine and any serious side effects, and several independent health authorities have endorsed that view.
The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization both said last week that there was no evidence that the drug causes blood clots.
“An analysis of our safety data of more than 10 million records has revealed no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis in any particular age group, gender, batch or in any particular country,” said an AstraZeneca spokesperson. “In fact, the observed rate of events like this is significantly lower in the vaccinees than what would be expected in the general population.”
Officials from the European Medicines Agency stressed last week that “there is currently no evidence that vaccination causes these conditions” and “the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can be administered”.
On Monday, however, German officials said the pan-EU agency was expected to decide later in the week “if and how the new information will affect approval of the vaccine.”
The UK pharmaceuticals regulator on Monday provided new support for the vaccine, which has been widely used in the UK for weeks
Dr. Phil Bryan, chief of vaccine safety for the British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said people “still have to go get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked.”
“We are looking closely at the reports, but given the large number [AstraZeneca] doses administered and the frequency with which blood clots can occur naturally, the available evidence does not suggest the vaccine is the cause, ”he said, according to the BBC.
Even the countries that have stopped using the vaccine in Europe have said there is no evidence that the clots were causes by the AstraZeneca shot – only that they happened after it was administered.
Steve Parsons / Pool / REUTERS
The head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, Andrew Pollard, said real-life data from the UK mass vaccination program recently showed a 94% drop in hospital admissions for those who received the Oxford vaccine – even more impressive figures than with the Pfizer. formula.
‘We have not had any hospitalizations or deaths [from COVID] in those individuals vaccinated with the vaccine, “Pollard said.” So the real-world evidence confirms in real life what we saw in the clinical trials – it definitely exceeded the studies’ expectations. “
US approval and PR issues
The United States has stockpiled tens of millions of doses of the vaccine, but AstraZeneca has yet to file an application with the Food and Drug Administration for approval for emergency medical use, pending the results of US clinical trials. A supervisor at the company told CBSN on March 5 that AstraZeneca hoped to apply for that license “in the coming weeks”.
Last year, the Trump administration pledged nearly $ 1.2 billion to AstraZeneca to help develop the vaccine at the University of Oxford in exchange for 300 million doses.
Easier and cheaper to manufacture and distribute than the other vaccines already approved in the US, the Oxford Injection has long been considered the forerunner of vaccination programs not only in America, but around the world.
More than 70 countries around the world used it until last week.
The recent security concerns are just the latest in a series of setbacks in publicity for the vaccine
With research data showing lack of efficacy with the Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna vaccines, some people in Germany and other countries have been reluctant to take a “second-rate” injection. The government there also stopped approving its use for people over 65, citing a lack of specific research data, but that decision was reversed and German officials were among those critical of the discontinuation of vaccination programs in the other European countries. week.
South Africa also temporarily suspended the vaccine after a small clinical trial found it did not provide adequate protection against infection with the COVID-19 variant spread throughout that country.