“When Europe had just approved the vaccine, a number of countries felt that there was insufficient data available on its effectiveness in people over 55, including our country, so the vaccine was initially only given to people under that age. new data from hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and the United Kingdom, real field studies, that showed that the vaccine was also effective over the age of 75 and 80. From then on many countries, including ours, administered the vaccine to all age groups over 18 years old. “
After that, a few rare cases of blood clotting diseases came to light. Some countries have then started making their own decisions and have suspended vaccination without waiting for advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Ultimately, the benefits of the vaccination were greater than the possible risks of side effects, after which many countries resume vaccination. And now we see again that countries are starting to make decisions themselves again. And that gives the population a lot of doubts, because why does one country stop it and the other country does it? by?”
The EMA is currently studying the new data to be able to formulate an opinion, says Van Damme. “In the Netherlands, there are 5 cases out of 400,000 vaccinations. In the United Kingdom, the country with the longest and most experience with AstraZeneca, there are 30 cases out of 18 million vaccinations. That illustrates its rarity. It’s difficult. to establish a causal relationship. “
“We are now trying to find a common denominator in those people, but that is not easy. For example, they have no history of a thrombosis.” The fact that it is not so obvious, according to Van Damme, also shows why many countries do not go overnight. “There are now consultations with experts at European level, after which advice is given to politicians. They have to take the plunge.”
According to Van Damme, that European advice is expected on Tuesday and a political decision would follow on Wednesday.
Listen to the full conversation with Pierre Van Damme in ‘The Morning’ via Radio 1 Select.
Source: vrtnws.be and ‘The Morning’
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