In the wake of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) giving the green light to continue vaccination with the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and pushing back against the recent blood clot scare, various European countries are resuming the use of the vaccine
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2021) In the wake of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) giving the green light to continue vaccination with the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and pushing back against the recent blood clot scare, various European countries are resuming the use of the vaccine.
Earlier in the month, reports emerged about people developing blood clots after receiving the vaccine, causing countries all over the globe to halt their use of the vaccine for the time being.
"This is a safe and effective vaccine. Its benefits in protecting people from COVID-19 with the associated risks of death and hospitalization outweigh the possible risks. The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots," EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said on Thursday.
This conclusion was bolstered by a statement from the World Health Organization, which points out that the data at hand "does not suggest any overall increase in clotting conditions such as deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism following administration of COVID-19 vaccines."
As both the EMA and WHO give their stamp of approval, European countries have to choose their course of action, with some already resuming their vaccine roll-out, as the bloc tries to improve its vaccination record compared to other places.
While Belgium has not exactly covered itself in glory in its handling of the pandemic, its decision not to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine may prove to be its most auspicious yet.
Earlier in the week, Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke, while refusing to criticize the countries which stopped vaccination, made a point about the benefits of vaccination and reminded that the country was "in a race against time."
"Contrary to neighboring countries, which have lost four days of vaccination, Belgium is continuing the vaccination campaign without changing anything. The vaccination task force and the Belgian Federal Medicines Agency [FAMHP] are in permanent contact with the European Health Agency," Arne Brinkman, the minister's spokesperson, told Sputnik.
Marc Van Ranst, a virologist and professor at the KU Leuven university, who is also a member of the health experts panel consulted by the government, has been active in supporting Belgium's decision. The expert reminded Sputnik that before the EMA weighed in on the matter, the British Medicines Agency (MHRA UK) stated that its review of all available data did not point at the AstraZeneca vaccine as the cause of blood clots.
"You cannot be more clear than Dr. June Raine, the chief executive of the British MHRA! As I said earlier, the AstraZeneca vaccine is very effective in preventing hospitalizations and death," Van Ranst emphasized.
GERMAN OPPOSITION THARASHES GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
According to the country's health ministry, Germany is restarting its vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine this Friday.
Meanwhile, the specialists from the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, also known as the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), have issued recommendations on how to use the vaccine, asking doctors to pay attention to clinical symptoms that may either thrombosis or low platelet count.
Still, for the country's opposition, the whole opposition is just another evidence of the government's inability to mount a proper response against the pandemic.
"The uncertainties with the vaccine from AstraZeneca have worsened the vaccination chaos caused by the federal government. It shows that the government's strategy of relying on vaccinations only to get out of lockdown was wrong. Instead, one should have relied on alternative measures to lockdown and vaccination from the outset, as suggested by the AfD parliamentary group," Detlev Spangenberg, a health policy spokesman for the parliamentary faction of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, told Sputnik.
CASTEX GETS VACCINATED WHILE MACRON CATCHES HEAT
Like Germany, France is resuming its vaccination on Friday, with Prime Minister Jean Castex receiving his first dose of the vaccine on a live broadcast, to assuage fears that people might still have.
Nevertheless, the French National Authority for Health has recommended resuming the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine only for people who are aged 55 years or older.
The country's press, however, is very critical of the fact that President Macron followed Germany in stopping vaccination.
The opposition is out for Macron's scalp as well.
"So, France has lost four days by blindly following Germany, while Macron had a chance to mark his difference with Berlin. A typical lack of courage of the French team that made much more damage than just losing four days of vaccination with the cheapest and one of the best vaccines, as confirmed by the EMA," Gilles Lebreton, an EU lawmaker from the far-right party National Rally, told Sputnik.
The lawmaker mentioned Macron's ill-conceived comments about the AstraZeneca vaccine being ineffective on people over 65.
"It has now been proven that the AstraZeneca vaccine is probably the best for senior citizens! And still, Macron manages to stop again its use in the vaccination campaign, while it is the easiest one to inoculate because the doses don't require very low temperatures. It is also the cheapest. But Super Macron, through this deadly hesitation, manages to kill all confidence for [the vaccine by] AstraZeneca in the population. Wonderful!" Lebreton fumed.
