The World Health Organization (WHO) has defended AstraZeneca vaccine following preliminary investigations into its safety showing there is no link between the blood-clotting reports and the vaccine.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, Who said, “So far we do not find an association between these events and the vaccine because the rates at which they have occurred in the vaccinated group are in fact less than what you would expect in the general population at the same time.”
Prior to the findings, various reported a number of people with blood clotting-related issues after vaccination.
Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Austria and Ireland are some of the countries that have temporarily suspended the use of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure. Sweden is the latest country to join the growing list.
From about a population of about 1.6 million people who were vaccinated in Germany, 7 cases of cerebral venous thrombosis, a type of blood clot issue, were reported.
Denmark and Norway had each recorded one death of persons who developed blood clots.
European Medicine Agency issued a press release dated March 15 stating that thousands of people develop blood clots annually in the EU for different reasons, but that the number of thromboembolic events overall in vaccinated people seems not to be higher than that seen in the general population.
On March 14, an update by AstraZeneca on their website stated that there have been 15 instances of deep vein thrombosis and 22 instances of pulmonary embolism reported among those who received the vaccine based on the number of cases the company had received as of March 8 from the EU and UK.
WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom said,
“It is routine practice to investigate them and it shows that the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place.”
According to the Director at the Institute of Clinical Research at the Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative (KAVI) Professor Walter Jaoko, the investigations will be highly beneficial as it is not the first time in the history of vaccines that vaccination program or campaign has been halted for some reasons.
“There are some things that you might not have seen during the trial that you might start seeing after the trial. The question you ask yourself is, is it happening in a particular population group, for example? If you find that people getting clots are those with high blood pressure, you can do an advisory and say people with high blood pressure should not take vaccine yet,” Prof. Jaoko said.
The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) reassures that so far in the ongoing phase three trials of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, there are no reports of major side effects.
Acting KEMRI Director General Dr. Sam Kariuki said, “We are talking about huge numbers of individuals that have been involved in this, there’s a very small percentage with side effects…maybe just slight headaches, loss of appetite, that over time people are able to overcome.”
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