Denmark and other European nations suspend use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine following reports of blood clots

More European countries are suspending the use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines over growing reports of blood clots. Denmark on Thursday announced that they will temporarily suspend the use of the vaccines, according to the Danish Health Authority.

Norway and Iceland also announced on Thursday the temporal discontinuation of administering the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

The call for the suspension of the vaccines as stated by the Danish Health Authority was as a result of “reports of severe cases of blood clots in people who have been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca.”

Following the reports, the European Medicines Agency is investigating the matter. The health authority said in a statement that there had been a report of one death, however, it is uncertain if the death was caused by the vaccine or something else.

AstraZeneca is yet to officially respond to the blood clots reports and alleged deaths. However, it said much priority is placed on patient safety.

“Patient safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca. Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca,” the pharmaceutical said in a statement. “The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in Phase III clinical trials and Peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine is generally well tolerated.”

Director of the National Board of Health in Denmark, Soren Brostrom has ordered that the vaccine should be placed under a 14-day suspension while investigations are done. He emphasized that the suspension was only temporary and “we have not opted out of the AstraZeneca vaccine.”

“There is good evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective,” he said. “But both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have to react to reports of possible serious side effects, both from Denmark and other European countries.”

A similar case of blood clots was reported in Austria last week, prompting health authorities to suspend the use of batch ABV5300 of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The suspension came after one person was received the vaccine was diagnosed with multiple thrombosis (formations of blood clots in blood vessels) and died 10 days after receiving the vaccine. Another person was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism after receiving the vaccine.

“Some EU countries have also subsequently suspended this batch as a precautionary measure, while a full investigation is ongoing,” the health agency said. “Although a quality defect is considered unlikely at this stage, the batch quality is being investigated.”

In a late Thursday report, the EU medicine regulator said there is no link between the AstraZeneca Covid vaccines and the blood clots, according to CNN.

“There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine,” the EMA said. “The vaccine’s benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing.”