Germany on Monday suspended the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, the Ministry of Health announced in a statement, with Italy, France and Spain doing the same later in the day. Several other EU countries have stopped using the vaccine due to the possibility of blood clots.
The Ministry of Health announced that the use of the vaccine was “suspended as a precaution” based on the advice of the national health regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI). According to the Ministry of Health, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will decide “whether and how the new information will affect vaccine authorization” pending an investigation.
“After new reports of brain vein thrombosis in connection with vaccination in Germany and Europe, the PEI considers that further investigations are needed,” announced the Ministry of Health.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said that “the decision is professional, not political”, following the advice of the PEI. Spahn said the risk of blood clots with the injection of AstraZeneca is low, but it cannot be ruled out.
“The most important thing for trust is transparency,” said Spahn during a briefing.
EMA to hold special meeting later this week on vaccine safety
French President Emmanuel Macron said France would suspend the use of the vaccine pending an EMA review. The EMA said it will hold a special conference on Thursday to complete its evaluation of the vaccine.
“EMA currently continues with the view that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of side effects,” said the EMA in a statement on Monday.
AstraZeneca suspensions across Europe, worldwide
In addition to Germany, Italy and France, other nations in Europe and the world have suspended the use of the vaccine due to possible risks of clotting. Last week, Denmark became the first country to suspend implementation, followed by Norway, Iceland and Bulgaria.
Non-European countries that have stopped using the vaccine include Thailand and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Health regulators must provide clear messages about the vaccine, the virologist tells DW
Virologist and associate professor at Northumbria University in the UK, Sterghio Moschos, told DW on Monday that governments should provide clear messages about their decisions to suspend the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“It is very, very important that we give clear, concise and carefully thought out messages,” said Moschos, citing the prevalence of conspiracy and misinformation theories surrounding vaccines. “So in that regard, I fully support any legislator’s decision to stop, take a look and take the data into account.”
“What we do know is that 17 million people received the vaccine and 37 developed these blood clots. This corresponds to 0.0002% of any person who was vaccinated receiving a blood clot,” added Moschos, saying he would get the AstraZeneca vaccine “immediately. “if it was offered to him.
wd / msh (AP, dpa)