AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has gotten a pretty bad rap in recent months, and now Denmark, Norway and Ireland have stopped distributing the vaccine over concerns it may cause blood clots. However, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has insisted the vaccine is safe for use.
According to an ABC report, Denmark suspended the vaccine for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman formed a blood clot and died shortly after receiving the jab.
“It is currently not possible to conclude whether there is a link,” Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter. “We are acting early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated.”
However, European medicine regulator, European Medicines Agency (EMA), subsequently backed the vaccine, saying “the vaccine’s benefits continue to outweigh its risks”.
“There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine,” EMA said in a statement.
Meanwhile, European countries like France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom have made a point to note they will be continuing with their own rollouts of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dutton has since reassured Aussies there’s nothing to worry about, telling Today on Friday morning that Australia’s rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine will continue unless new evidence proves otherwise.
“The way in which this rollout has worked, not just here but around the world, means that we do have an enormous amount of data,” he said. “And the conclusion here is that the vaccine is safe. It will continue to rollout.”
Meanwhile, speaking from Murrumbeena in Victoria on ABC News on Friday morning, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said it was important that all Aussies play their part and get the Covid-19 jab when the opportunity presents itself.
“Australia is a big nation,” he said. “I’m pleased as a regional member that regional people are being vaccinated at the same rate as our city friends. We have a plan. We’re rolling it out. We’re getting on with the job. It won’t go flawlessly all the way through … but we do the very best we can.
“We urge and encourage Australians when it come their turn to get their jab, to get it. When it is their turn to get the second jab get it. We want to vaccinate all Australians. We need to be able to to that so we can get through this COVID pandemic.”
The news comes almost a month after the vaccine was given the tick of approval from the nation’s medical regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration. The vaccine has been approved for people aged over 18 and will be administered in two doses, at least four weeks apart. The vaccine will start being distributed from March 22.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has been off to a pretty rocky start. Just last month several German news outlets reported that the vaccine had an efficacy of less than 10 per cent among older people. However, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company that makes the vaccine was quick to shut down those claims saying they’re “completely incorrect”.
And earlier in February, there were calls from Australian scientists to pause the rollout of the vaccine, due to concerns it may not be effective enough to generate herd immunity.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.