The Dutch Health Minister says a temporary halt is a precautionary measure after five reports of blood clots with low platelet counts after vaccinations.
The Netherlands stopped administering Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations until April 7.
On Friday, the Dutch Ministry of Health said it would temporarily halt vaccinations for people under 60. But after talks on Saturday, health departments decided to suspend all AstraZeneca injections to avoid wastage.
About 700 people over the age of 60 were expected to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming days, but their appointments were also temporarily canceled, as there were no guarantees that a full batch could be used in its entirety if only a few people got injections. .
The decision comes days after authorities in Germany also stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine in the 1960s-1960s, citing new concerns about unusual blood clots reported in a small number of those who received the injections.
Earlier on Friday, a Dutch organization that monitors vaccine side effects said it had received five reports of blood clots with low platelet counts after vaccinations. DPA news agency reported that one person has died.
All cases occurred between seven and 10 days after vaccinations and all involved were women between 25 and 65 years of age.
It is investigated whether these were caused by the vaccination.
The vaccine surveillance organization said that in the period when the five cases were reported, some 400,000 people in the Netherlands have been vaccinated with the injection of AstraZeneca.
Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge calls the temporary suspension a precautionary measure.
“I think it is very important that the Dutch reports are also properly investigated,” said de Jonge. “We have to be careful.”
Saturday’s decision is yet another setback for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is critical to Europe’s vaccination campaign and pivotal in the global strategy to get injections to poorer countries as it is cheaper and easier to use than competitive Pfizer vaccines and Moderna.
It comes two weeks after the European Union drug regulator said the vaccine does not increase the overall incidence of blood clots after a similar fear.
At the time, the European Medicines Agency said the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks, but it couldn’t rule out a link between the injection and some unusual types of blood clots, and recommended adding a warning about possible rare side effects.
De Jonge said the Dutch break will come for an update next week from the EU medicines agency about the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Most EU countries, including Germany, resumed use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 19.