Sweden, Denmark and Norway will not rush to resume vaccination against Covid-19 with AstraZeneca, as they believe it will take longer to assess the safety and its possible link to health problems in a small number of vaccinated people. AstraZeneca will also be discontinued in Finland for at least a week.
Denmark reported on Saturday blood clots and cerebral haemorrhages to two hospital medical staff who had been vaccinated with AstraZeneca less than two weeks ago, reported by Reuters. One person died but the other was in serious health, the Copenhagen hospital said.
The Danish Medical Agency confirmed that it had received two “serious reports” but did not provide any further information. It was not immediately known when the health problems of both hospital staff were identified.
In Finland, on the other hand, the evaluation of AstraZeneca will be a safety precautionary measure following two registered cases of blood clots in the brain. informed the Finnish public media YLE. Officials in Finland emphasized that the investigation would be a safety step, as reported cases of health problems could also be unrelated to vaccination. The vaccinees had health problems from the fourth to the tenth day after receiving the vaccine.
Similar isolated cases have been reported in other countries, but not in greater numbers than the national average.
Denmark is one of the countries that temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccine on 11 March after reports of blood clots in a very small number of people vaccinated. Some countries have resumed the use of AstraZeneca vaccine after European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday that the vaccine is generally safe and effective. Denmark, Sweden and Norway, on the other hand, said on Friday that they needed more time to assess the possible link between the individual cases and the AstraZeneca vaccine and take a decision.
Tanja Eriksen, Director of Pharmacovigilance at the Danish Medical Agency, said on Saturday that two reports of possible serious side effects would be investigated as a matter of priority to determine if they were related to the vaccine.
EZA director Emera Cook acknowledged on Thursday that a possible link between blood clots and the vaccine could not be ruled out in about 30 cases of blood clots, but stressed that the benefits of vaccination, which protects people from the risk of death or hospitalization, clearly outweigh the risks.
AstraZeneca refrained from commenting on two new cases in Denmark on Saturday, but previously said more than 17 million people had been vaccinated in the European Union and the UK, and no evidence was found that the vaccine was linked to blood clots.
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