By ISmail Auwal
Three more European countries have suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine as they continue to record serious cases of blood clots among people who had received the vaccine.
Denmark, Norway and Iceland temporarily suspended the vaccination exercise on Thursday, after Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxemburg, suspended the exercise earlier siting similar concerns.
Denmark was first to announce its suspension, “following reports of serious cases of blood clots” among people who had received the vaccine, the country’s Health Authority said in a statement.
It stressed the move was precautionary, and that “it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots”.
However, Europe’s medicines regulator said there appeared to be no higher risk of blood clots in those vaccinated against Covid-19, after Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspended use of the AstraZeneca jab.
“The information available so far indicates that the number of thromboembolic events in vaccinated people is no higher than that seen in the general population,” the European Medicines Agency told AFP by email when asked about the suspension.
As of March 9, 22 cases of blood clots had been reported among more than three million people vaccinated in the European Economic Area, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said.
Austria announced on Monday that it had suspended the use of a batch of AstraZeneca vaccines after a 49-year-old nurse died of “severe blood coagulation problems” days after receiving an anti-Covid shot.
On Wednesday, the EMA said a preliminary probe showed that the batch of AstraZeneca vaccines used in Austria was likely not to blame for the nurse’s death.
