Countries Suspended AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine After At Least 1 Person Died Of Blood Clots

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been suspended from use in Denmark for two weeks after reports that some people receiving it had substantial blood clots, which has possibly killed one person, Danish authorities said on Thursday.

Soon, Norway stopped the use of this COVID-19 vaccine as well on the same day. This is a cautionary decision, according to Director Geir Bukholm of Infection Prevention and Control of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) in a news conference.

As stated by Danish officials, this action came after reports of possible serious side effects from Denmark as well as other countries in Europe, CNBC reported. Specifically, a Danish health authority said:

“Against this background, the European Medicines Agency has launched an investigation into the AstraZeneca vaccine. One report relates to a death in Denmark. At present, it cannot be concluded whether there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots.”

But the European Union member did not reveal the exact number of blood clots that occurred. This comes following another investigation in Austria on one person’s death and another one’s illness after they received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

It’s worth noting that Norway’s FHI did not comment on the duration of the suspension, saying that they wait for information to see whether there’s a link between the vaccination and the blood clot case.

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has also been suspended in Italy as it was different from the one used in Austria. At the same time, the pharmaceutical firm emphasized that it studied the vaccine’s safety extensively during human trials, not to mention peer-reviewed data that affirmed the vaccine’s well-tolerated reaction.

Earlier this week, the company said that its vaccine went through severe and rigorous quality control and that there weren’t any confirmed serious adverse events associated with its vaccine, Reuters reported. It also claimed that it was in talks with Austrian authorities and supports the investigation.

The European Medicines Agency said on Wednesday that there was no evidence linking AstraZeneca to the cases under investigation in Austria.

According to the EMA, there are several blood clots in people that received the vaccine, but the rate isn’t higher than that observed in the broader population. There were 22 cases of blood cots reported out of 3 million of those receiving the vaccine as of March 9.

Other countries that have suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine include Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Luxembourg. All in all, officials said these actions remain strictly precautionary as solid links haven’t been proven between the vaccine, blood clots, and death.

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