Thrombosis experts are astonished that a temporary injection stop with the AstraZeneca vaccine was decided on the basis of incomplete data and without consultation of experts. “If you pass all the experts, it comes close to arrogance,” says professor Hugo ten Cate. “I am getting more and more angry about how this went,” said Ten Cate de Volkskrant.
On Friday it was announced that the vaccine will no longer be given to people under the age of sixty for the time being, because now five women in the Netherlands have also been diagnosed with thrombosis after receiving the vaccine. But as yet, nothing points to the suspicious clinical picture that is currently so much to do, say the experts.
“This is shocking”, says Frits Rosendaal, professor of clinical epidemiology, specializing in thrombosis. “This must be a political decision, for fear that there will be more cases and that the government will be accused of a lax attitude.” According to vascular physician and professor Pieter Willem Kamphuisen, the decision to temporarily stop vaccinating was mainly taken on the basis of emotion and not on the basis of science. “You first have to analyze the data and only then draw conclusions.”
The Netherlands is awaiting a new opinion from the European drug regulator (EMA). On Wednesday, the EMA Security Committee will meet again. Then it becomes clear how many reports of thrombosis with a reduced number of platelets there are in Europe, and what the risk is of those medical complaints.
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