The Netherlands has joined a growing list of countries that suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine following reports of possible adverse reactions after vaccination.
The Dutch government said on Sunday that it will interrupt use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for two weeks “as a precautionary measure and pending further investigation.”
The decision came just days after Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said there was “no cause for concern” and that vaccinations could continue. In a statement Sunday, the Dutch Ministry of Health said that the Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB) had received ‘new information’ this weekend.
According to the statement, there is still no “causal link” between the vaccine and the newly reported adverse reactions from Denmark and Norway, but the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be suspended until March 29.
“The MEB indicates that a total of six new reports of possible side effects have been received from Denmark and Norway. These are serious, rare signs of clot formation (thrombosis) and a decreased number of platelets (thrombocytopenia) in adults under the age of 50, “the statement said, adding that such cases have not yet occurred in the Netherlands.
“The crucial question is whether these are complaints after vaccination or caused by vaccination,” De Jonge said in the statement. “There can be no doubt about the vaccines.”
AstraZeneca has vigorously defended its vaccine, saying in a statement Sunday that there were no confirmed quality issues for any batch of the drug, and “no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or thrombocytopenia” for people who had received it.
Some context: The Netherlands is the last European country to partially or completely halt the roll-out of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of patients developing blood clots after vaccinations.
- Austria was the first to raise the alarm about the potential dangers of the vaccine, suspending a batch of doses last Tuesday.
- Italy last Friday banned the use of vaccines from a specific batch of AstraZeneca doses, after a man in Sicily died of cardiac arrest the day after receiving his first dose of the vaccine.
- Denmark became the first European country to temporarily halt full rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine last Thursday, followed by Iceland Norway and Ireland
The European Union’s drug regulator, EMA, is currently investigating whether the injection may be associated with some reports of blood clots.