Employee handles AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines in storage at Vaccine Center Region Hovedstaden, Copenhagen, Denmark February 11, 2021. Ritzau Scanpix / Liselotte Sabroe via REUTERS
Denmark said Thursday it had not yet decided what to do with the remaining AstraZeneca (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccines after a senior figure from the World Health Organization suggested the Nordic country would share them with other countries.
Denmark became the first country to stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine altogether this week, as European officials are examining reports of rare blood clots in combination with low platelet counts that have occurred in Europe and Great Britain. read more
The decision has sparked debate in Denmark about what to do with the vaccines.
Opposition parties believe that the authorities should make the shot available to Danes who want to take it. The government has asked health authorities to investigate this option.
Denmark currently has just over 200,000 vaccines, but will receive an additional 3.5 million under previous agreements, the State Serum Institute told Reuters.
“The government has not yet decided what to do with the purchased AstraZeneca vaccines,” the Danish Ministry of Health said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The Norwegian government said on Thursday that it will take more time to assess whether the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine should be resumed or discontinued altogether. read more
The WHO, along with Britain and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), continues to recommend the injection of AstraZeneca because the benefits outweigh the risks, has pushed countries not to pot up vaccines they don’t use.
World Bank President David Malpass called on countries on Thursday to contribute their “excess” doses of COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries.
The lion’s share of the vaccines distributed worldwide so far have gone to wealthier countries.
“I understand Denmark’s Foreign Ministry is willing to share AstraZeneca vaccines with other countries, or is already exploring options,” WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge told reporters on Thursday after talks with the director. from the Danish health authority Soren Brostrom.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said her country would be happy to do it: “We still have fewer vaccines than people who want to be vaccinated. That’s why Lithuania has expressed its willingness to take as many doses of Astra Zeneca as possible, as Denmark is willing to share.” “
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