BANGKOK (AP) – Thailand’s prime minister received an injection of the AstraZeneca-made COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, as much of Asia ignored concerns about reports of blood clots in some containers in Europe, saying that so far there is no evidence to link the two.
Many countries that use the vaccine have also said that the benefits of inoculation far outweigh the possible risks, even though parts of Europe have suspended the vaccine pending the investigation of possible side effects.
AstraZeneca has developed a manufacturing base in Asia, and the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has been contracted by the company to produce one billion doses of the vaccine for developing countries. Hundreds of millions more will be made this year in Australia, Japan, Thailand and South Korea.
“There are people who are concerned,” said Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. “But we must believe in doctors, believe in our medical professionals.”
Thailand was last week the first country outside Europe to temporarily suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Indonesia did the same on Monday, saying it was awaiting a full World Health Organization report on possible side effects.
But Thai health officials decided to proceed with AstraZeneca, with Prayuth and members of his cabinet receiving the first injections.
A large number of European countries – including Germany, France, Italy and Spain – suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday due to reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients, although the company and international regulators say there is no evidence of let the blame be the fault.
The EU drug regulatory agency called a meeting on Thursday to review the experts’ conclusions about the injection of AstraZeneca and to decide if any action needs to be taken.
Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region have also said they will continue with vaccination programs.
In the Philippines, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said his country would not suspend use because the benefits outweighed the risks. The country has so far received 525,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX agreement of the World Health Organization and has administered 12,788 doses. Several million more doses were ordered by the government and private companies.
“There is still no clear data to show that blood clotting was caused by AstraZeneca. If these data are released, we may also stop using AstraZeneca, ”said Roque. “As of now, our experts are saying again that the benefits we get from using AstraZeneca are greater than the side effects of this vaccine.”
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said his country would not stop vaccinations. Australia has vaccinated around 200,000 people so far and plans to import and manufacture 70 million doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca.
“The government clearly, unequivocally, absolutely supports the launch of AstraZeneca, in a clear, unambiguous way, absolutely. And the reason it is very simple – it will help to save and protect lives, and it is done on the basis of medical advice, ”said Hunt to Parliament.
Australia’s chief physician Paul Kelly said that so far there is no evidence that the vaccine causes blood clots.
“Blood clots happen, they happen in Australia quite often,” he said. “But from my point of view, I don’t see any specific link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots, and I’m not alone in that opinion.”
By far, the biggest user of the AstraZeneca vaccine is India.
India is using two vaccines – the AstraZeneca injection by the Serum Institute of India, and another by the Indian vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech – to immunize its vast population. Of the more than 25.6 million people in India who received at least one vaccine injection, more than 23.4 million received the AstraZeneca injection, according to government data.
Health officials told the Press Trust of India news agency on Saturday that a total of 234 adverse events, including 71 deaths, were reported after receiving either vaccine – but that no causal link was found. The government is now analyzing the cases for a final assessment.
The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has been contracted by AstraZeneca to manufacture one billion doses of the vaccine for developing nations. As of March 4, India had exported more than 48.1 million doses of the vaccine, including 11.9 million doses to COVAX and 28.8 million doses as commercial exports, according to government data.
Meanwhile, health activists and medical ethics experts in India have warned that Indian systems for monitoring any harmful side effects are too lax.
With the exception of some countries, such as Singapore and India, Asian nations have been taking a long time to vaccinate their populations. Most nations, including Australia, New Zealand and Thailand, have been relatively successful in containing the spread of COVID-19.
Thailand has ordered enough vaccine from AstraZeneca and China to cover about half of its population this year and has so far managed to inoculate some 50,000 people in high-risk groups.
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Associated Press journalists Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok, Jim Gomez in Manilla, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Moussa Moussa in Sydney, Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aniruddha Ghosal in New Delhi, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report