Demark announced Thursday it will suspend the use of the AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine because patients reported suffering from blood clots, CNBC reports.
What happened?
The Danish Health Authority said it would stop using AstraZeneca’s vaccine because there were “reports of severe cases of blood clots in people who have been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca.”
- “Against this background, the European Medicines Agency has launched an investigation into the AstraZeneca vaccine. One report relates to a death in Denmark. At present, it cannot be concluded whether there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots,” the Danish Health Authority said in a statement, according to CNBC.
However, the Danish authority did not say how many cases there were or how they originated. It’s more of a precautionary measure.
Flashback
Austria health officials said recently that they are investigating the death of one person and an illness in another patient who received doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, per Reuters.
South Africa halted the use of the vaccine, too, after it reportedly didn’t protect patients from mild or moderate illness from the new COVID-19 variant first discovered in South Africa, according to The New York Times.
Context
There’s been some controversy with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, said the vaccine might not be recommended for the elderly and older adults because there’s a lack of data on its effectiveness on that population, according to The Associated Press.
However, a major study found the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine protects people against serious illness and death from COVID-19, according to The New York Times.
- In total, the study found there was a 67% reduction in positive COVID-19 test swabs in those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
What’s next?
Søren Brostrøm, director of the National Board of Health in Denmark, said an investigation into the AstraZeneca vaccine will begin soon, according to CNBC.
- “It is important to emphasize that we have not opted out of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but that we are putting it on hold. There is good evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective. But both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have to react to reports of possible serious side effects, both from Denmark and other European countries,” he said.