In an attempt to allay emerging concerns across the region, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) said that the version and batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in use in the Caribbean is not the same as it is now temporarily suspended in Europe.
Some European countries have suspended the use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, England, after deaths from diseases related to blood clotting after receiving the vaccine. Denmark was the first to announce the suspension, while the Italian pharmaceutical agency on Thursday also ordered a preventive ban on a specific batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine, after what it said were “serious adverse events”.
Jamaica this week began vaccinating its frontline workers to include health workers and the police, after receiving 50,000 doses of gifts from India on Monday.
In a note released yesterday, CARPHA said that the link between the vaccine and deaths has not yet been determined, recalling that suspensions are a precautionary measure, while a full investigation of the reports is being carried out.
“Adverse reactions that happen after immunization with any vaccine need to be fully investigated to rule out several factors, for example, concomitant diseases, disease progression and batch evaluation, before a final decision is made by health authorities,” he said. CARPHA.
He continued: “It should be noted that the vaccine being used in the Caribbean is not the same version or batch as that in Europe.”
The regional health agency said it would immediately report the findings and any recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) to regional and international health partners as soon as the body had a complete understanding of the relationship between deaths and the vaccine. He said the WHO Global Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee is carefully evaluating current reports on the AstraZeneca vaccine.
CARPHA is guaranteeing member states that its Caribbean Regulatory System (CRS) verifies vaccines with emergency use authorization granted by strict reference regulatory authorities.
It is encouraging people who have been vaccinated with any of the COVID-19 vaccines available in their country to report adverse events that occur after vaccination to their local health authorities.
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