The Dutch Minister of Health says a temporary strike is a precaution after five reports of blood clots with a low platelet count after vaccinations.
The Netherlands suspended the administration of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations until 7 April.
The Dutch Ministry of Health said on Friday that it would temporarily stop vaccinations for people under the age of 60. But after discussions on Saturday, the health departments decided to suspend all AstraZeneca congestion to avoid wastage.
About 700 people over the age of 60 would receive the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming days, but their appointments were also temporarily canceled because there were no guarantees that a full bundle could be used if only a few people would receive jabs. . .
The decision comes days after German authorities stopped discontinuing the AstraZeneca vaccine in the 1960s, citing fresh concerns about unusual blood clots reported in a small number of those who received the shots. is.
Earlier Friday, a Dutch organization monitoring the side effects of vaccines said they had received five reports of low-platelet counts following vaccinations. The news agency DPA reported that one person was killed.
All cases occurred between seven and ten days after vaccination, and all the people affected were women between the ages of 25 and 65.
An investigation is underway to determine if it was caused by the vaccination.
The vaccine monitoring organization said in the period when the five cases were reported, about 400,000 people in the Netherlands were vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s shot.
Health Minister Hugo de Jonge says the temporary strike is a precautionary measure.
“I think it is very important that the Dutch reports are also properly examined,” said de Jonge. “We must err on the side of caution.”
Saturday’s ruling is another setback for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is critical to the European vaccination campaign and an important role in the global strategy to get shots to poorer countries, as it is cheaper and easier to use. as competing vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
This comes two weeks after the European Union’s drug regulator said the vaccine did not increase the overall incidence of blood clots after a similar scare.
At the time, the European Medicines Agency said the benefits of vaccination outweighed the risks, but could not rule out a link between the shot and some unusual types of blood clots, and recommended a warning about possible rare side effects. add effects.
De Jonge said that the Dutch break will be updated by the EU Medicines Agency on the AstraZeneca vaccine before next week.
Most EU countries, including Germany, resumed use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on 19 March.