BANGKOK (AP) – The Prime Minister of Thailand on Tuesday received a recording of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca, as much of Asia has raised concerns about the reports of blood clots at some recipients in Europe, saying that there is so far no evidence link the two.
Many countries that use the vaccine have also said that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the potential risks, even as parts of Europe have suspended it pending investigation into possible side effects.
AstraZeneca has developed a production base in Asia, and the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has been contracted by the company to produce one billion doses of vaccine for developing countries. Hundreds of millions more will be produced in Australia, Japan, Thailand and South Korea.
“There are people who are worried,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said after receiving the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine. “But we have to believe doctors, believe in our medical profession.”
Thailand was last week the first country outside Europe to temporarily suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Indonesia followed suit on Monday, saying it was awaiting a full report from the World Health Organization on possible side effects.
But the health authorities of Thailand decided to continue with AstraZeneca, while Prayuth and members of his cabinet got the first shots.
A large number of European countries – including Germany, France, Italy and Spain – suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday due to reports of dangerous blood clots at some recipients, although the company and international regulators say there is no evidence that the shot do not get the blame.
The EU Drugs Agency has convened a meeting for Thursday to examine the findings of experts on the AstraZeneca shot and decide whether action should be taken.
Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region have also said they are continuing with vaccination programs.
In the Philippines, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said his country would not suspend use because the benefits outweighed any risks. The country has so far received 525.00 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the COVAX scheme of the World Health Organization and has so far administered 12,788 doses. Another few million doses were ordered by the government and private companies.
‘There is no clear data yet to show that the blood clotting was caused by AstraZeneca. “If such data comes out, we might as well stop using AstraZeneca,” Roque said. “Our experts say from now on that the benefits we have from using AstraZeneca outweigh the side effects of this vaccine.”
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has said his country will not stop vaccinations. Australia has so far vaccinated around 200,000 people and plans to import and manufacture 70 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
‘The government supports the rollout of AstraZeneca clearly, unequivocally, clearly, clearly, unequivocally, absolutely. “And the reason why it is very simple – it will help save lives and protect lives, and it is done on the basis of medical advice,” Hunt told parliament.
Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, has said there is no evidence so far that the vaccine causes blood clots.
“Blood clots occur, they occur fairly frequently in Australia,” he said. “But from my perspective, I do not see that there is a specific link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots, and I am not alone in that.”
By far the largest user of the AstraZeneca vaccine is India.
India uses two vaccines – the AstraZeneca survey made by Serum Institute of India, and another by Indian vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech – to immunize the large population. Of the more than 25.6 million people in India who received at least one shot of a vaccine, more than 23.4 million received the AstraZeneca shot, according to government data.
Health officials told the Press Trust of India news agency on Saturday that a total of 234 adverse events, including 71 deaths, had been reported after one of the vaccines was received – but that no causal link had been found. The government is now reviewing the cases for a final assessment.
Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has been contracted by AstraZeneca to make one billion doses of vaccine for developing countries. According to government data, by March 4, India had exported more than 48.1 million doses of vaccine, including 11.9 million doses to COVAX and 28.8 million doses as commercial exports.
Meanwhile, health activists and medical ethics experts in India have warned that India’s systems for monitoring harmful side effects are too lax.
With the exception of a few countries, such as Singapore and India, the Asian countries were rather slow in getting their population vaccinated. Most countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Thailand, have had COVID-19 distribution relatively successful.
Thailand has ordered just enough vaccine from AstraZeneca and China to cover about half of its population this year and has so far managed to vaccinate about 50,000 people in high-risk groups.
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Associated Press Journalists Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok, Jim Gomez in Manilla, Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, Moussa Moussa in Sydney, Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aniruddha Ghosal in New Delhi, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report