Canada also recommends restrictions on Astrazeneca

Canada is also recommending restrictions on the vaccine given the reports of blood clots temporally related to Astrazeneca vaccinations. The responsible experts said on Monday that Astrazeneca should not be used on people under 55 years of age.

There is “considerable uncertainty” about the vaccine’s benefits for people under the age of 55, health official Howard Njoo said at a news conference. The use of the corona vaccine for this age group will be suspended until further risk analyzes are available.

Those who have received a dose of Astrazeneca in the past three weeks were advised to see a doctor. So far, no cases of blood clots have been recorded in Canada, said health official Supriya Sharma. The decision of the Canadian authorities refers to the cases that have occurred in Europe.

Canada’s Vaccination Commission (NACI) vice president Shelley Deeks said most cases had occurred in women under the age of 55, between four and 16 weeks after the vaccine was given. The frequency is between 1 in 100,000 and 1 in a million.

After reports of the blood clots and also some deaths related to an Astrazeneca vaccination against Covid-19, the vaccinations were temporarily suspended in Germany and numerous other countries in mid-March.

After a renewed review of the vaccine developed in Great Britain, the EU Medicines Agency (EMA) reiterated its assessment of the vaccine as “safe and effective”. Most countries then resumed vaccinations.

However, there are some restrictions. In France the vaccine is only used for people over the age of 55, in Spain it is not intended to be used for people over the age of 65.

ju / ck

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