AstraZeneca blood clot risk: How vaccine suspension will affect Australia
The AstraZeneca vaccine rollout around the world has been hit by suspensions and delays over health concerns. This is what it means for Australia.
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The AstraZeneca vaccine rollout around the world has been hit by suspensions and delays over health concerns. This is what it means for Australia.
WHAT IS THE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE?
It is a two-dose jab that protects against COVID-19. It is formally known as the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. AstraZeneca was given the tick of approval from the World Health Organisation, and was developed by Oxford University. It is an approved COVID-19 vaccine being distributed in Australia. On average, AstraZeneca eprovides 76 per cent protection from coronavirus for three months, which increases to 82 per cent after having the second dose.
WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE STOPPED USING IT?
France, Italy, Germany and Spain have temporarily suspended this particular brand of vaccine. It is also on hold in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Portugal, Slovenia, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Romania, Iceland and Ireland. Austria, Eastonia, Luxembourg, and Lithuania have suspended a particular batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Thailand also briefly suspended it.
WHY DID THEY SUSPEND ASTRAZENECA?
The countries stopped using AstraZeneca for precautionary reasons as there were concerns that some patients developed blood clots after receiving the jab.
Regulators have said there is no evidence that AstraZeneca is to blame.
DOES THE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE CAUSE BLOOD CLOTS?
No regulatory body including the World Health Organisation can find a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the increased chance of blood clots.
Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon.
On March 10, there were 30 reports of clots among almost five million people given the vaccine across Europe.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), Europe’s drug regulator, WHO, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration and the UK’s medicine regulator all say the vaccine is safe to give.
The EMA is still carrying out a review.
AstraZeneca also stated there is no link between the vaccine and cases of blood clots.
WHAT DOES THE WHO THINK OF THE VACCINE?
The World Health Organisation’s Chief Scientist said there was no proven link to serious side effects like blood clots and people should not panic.
“We do not want people to panic and we would, for the time being, recommend that countries continue vaccinating with AstraZeneca,” WHO’s scientist Soumya Swaminathan said.
WHAT HAS BEEN ASTRAZENECA’S RESPONSE TO VACCINE DELAYS/SUSPENSIONS?
AstraZeneca said there have been 15 instances of deep vein thrombosis and 22 events of pulmonary embolism reported among more than 17m people vaccinated in the European Union and UK.
In a statement AstraZeneca issued on Monday, it said the rate of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism across the millions of people vaccinated is “much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population of this size and is similar across other licensed COVID-19 vaccines”.
AstraZeneca’s chief medical officer, Ann Taylor, said: “The nature of the pandemic has led to increased attention in individual cases and we are going beyond the standard practices for safety monitoring of licensed medicines in reporting vaccine events, to ensure public safety.”
She said there were no confirmed issues related to any batch of vaccine used across Europe, or the rest of the world.
But additional testing is being conducted, and independent testing continues by European health authorities.
WHAT DOES AUSTRALIA’S REGULATORY BODY SAY ABOUT THE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE?
In a statement on March 12, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said it was aware that some European countries have paused vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of blood clots following vaccination.
“The TGA advises that a link between blood clots and the AstraZeneca vaccine has not been confirmed,” it stated.
“To 11 March 2021, the TGA has received no reports of blood clots following use of the AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S vaccine in Australia.
“Extensive international experience does not indicate an increased risk of blood clots associated with the vaccine. Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon.”
WHAT IS AUSTRALIA’S POSITION ON ASTRAZENECA?
Australia is rolling out the AstraZeneca vaccine and more than 50 million doses will be produced by CSL in Melbourne.
Chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly has said the vaccine is safe and effective.
Professor Kelly said there was no evidence the vaccine caused blood clots.
“The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is effective, it is safe, and it’s a high-quality vaccine,” he said
Prof Kelly said more than 11 million people had been vaccinated in the UK without evidence of an increase in blood clots. He also spoke to British and European medicine regulators on Sunday.
“As noted by the European Medicines Agency, the action taken by several European countries is a precautionary measure so that a full investigation can be rapidly conducted,” he said.
“Vaccination programs with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are continuing in other countries.”
Prof Kelly said Australia had clear protocols around reporting adverse reactions.
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