Countries mull whether to continue with AstraZeneca

Meanwhile, people relax in small groups in Hyde Park in central London as life continues following an easing of restrictions to allow people from more than one household to meet outdoors. PIC/AFP

Several countries including Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, Iceland and Thailand have temporarily suspended the Oxford University-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shots over blood clot fears. The UK has administered more than 31 million first vaccine doses, using both the Oxford-AstraZeneca and the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs. People cannot choose which one they get.

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said in a statement that "out of the 30 reports up to and including 24 March, sadly seven have died." The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which like the World Health Organisation previously declared the AstraZeneca vaccine safe, is expected to announce updated advice on the issue on April 7.

The EMA said again on Wednesday that it believes the vaccine is safe and that experts have found no specific risk factors such as age, gender or medical history. Most of the cases (22) were cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a rare condition when a blood clot forms in the brain. The regulator's website says that on the basis of current data, the benefits of the vaccines against COVID-19 "continue to outweigh any risks". AstraZeneca said last month that its vaccine is 79 per cent effective at preventing the disease and does not increase the risk of blood clots.

South African university reports COVID-19 cluster
Johannesburg: A total of 55 students from South Africa's University of Pretoria have tested positive for COVID-19, said Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande on Friday. "We are aggressively working on contact tracing with the help of the health department and have tested and screened a large number of students and staff," he said.

Aus to continue AstraZeneca
Melbourne: Australia will continue its inoculation programme with AstraZeneca PLC, health officials said. A 44-year-old man was admitted to a Melbourne hospital with clotting, days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, suffering thrombosis.

13,0,954,934
TOTAL Number OF CORONAVIRUS

CASES IN THE WORLD

28,53,007
Number OF DEATHS WORLDWIDE

10,54,31,002
Number OF RECOVERED PATIENTS

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever