AstraZeneca said it conducted a review of over 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and United Kingdom with its COVID-19 vaccine, and it has not shown any evidence of an increased danger of blood clot risks.
CBC News reported that a careful review of all existing safety data of over 17 million individuals vaccinated in the EU and UK with AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine had not shown evidence of such an increased danger of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia in any identified age group, batch, or gender, or in any specific country, as indicated in the statement.
Earlier reports said that authorities in countries like Norway, Iceland, Netherlands and Denmark temporarily suspended the use of vaccine over clotting issues, while Austria discontinued the use of batch of AstraZeneca-Oxford shots a week ago while conducting an investigation on a death due to coagulation disorders.
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The Italian government blocked the shipment of 250,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine developed by the Anglo-Swedish group and produced in a factory near Rome.
Suspension of the Vaccine Due to Abundance of Warning
Ireland also temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to an abundance of warnings. Similar report is shown on Sky News' YouTube video below.
According to the drug manufacturer, additional testing has and is currently being conducted by the firm, as well as the European health authorities, and none of the re-examinations have shown any reason for worry.
There has been no confirmation as well on issues associated with the quality of any of the company's batches of COVID-19 batches used across Europe and the rest of the world, AstraZeneca said. In connection to this, according to Health Canada, no issues with the vaccine had been reported.
While other nations temporarily stopped use of the COVID-19 vaccine, Health Canada has maintained there is no specification the vaccine is causing blood clots, contributing to the adverse occurrences from doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.
The department said earlier that Health Canada authorized the company's vaccine on a thorough, independent review of the evidence and claimed that it is meeting the strict safety, effectiveness and quality requirements of Canada.
Lack of Evidence Linking the Vaccine to Blood Clots
Canada is among many nations including France, Nigeria, Germany, Poland and the UK who continue using the vaccine, referring to lack of any evidence of a link to blood clots.
However, there has been some confusion associated with the position of Canada on who should be given the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.
Meanwhile, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended a week ago that Canadians who are above 65 years old not be given an AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccination amidst the emerging evidence from nations around the world showing its ability to prevent severe case of COVID-19 among older adults.
The said recommendations led provinces to acknowledge their vaccination plans for older adults. The result was that people whose age ranges from 60 to 64 years be given AstraZeneca-Oxford shots ahead of older age groups said to be at higher risk of hospital confinement from death due to COVID-19.
To date, Quebec is the lone province to ignore the nationwide recommendations. According to officials there, they would be administering the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to seniors, directly contrasting what the province is considering as an outdated NACI recommendation.
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