Some European countries are suspending the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. The AstraZeneca formula was one of three options in Europe, but reports of blood clots are causing the vaccine to be investigated.
“AstraZeneca said there have been 37 reports of blood clots out of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the 27-country EU and Britain,” the Associated Press reported. “The drugmaker said there is no evidence the vaccine carries an increased risk of clots.”
Though there are not many cases of blood clots, the European Medicines Agency executive director Emer Cooke said it is still a problem.
“This is a serious concern,” Cooke said, according to The Washington Post, “and it does need serious, detailed scientific evaluation.”
European countries announced a temporary ban, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland, Thailand and more. Canada and Britain are still distributing the vaccine. The countries also use Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines, like the U.S.
“In the coming weeks, AstraZeneca is expected to apply for U.S. authorization of its vaccine,” AP News reported. “The U.S. now relies on Pfizer’s, Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s shots.”
More than 70 countries have approved the vaccine, but AstraZeneca has not applied for authorization in the United States from the FDA.
“AstraZeneca has not yet applied to the Food and Drug Administration for authorization and is waiting for results from its U.S. trial that enrolled more than 32,000 participants,” The New York Times reported. “An announcement from AstraZeneca about those results could come soon: The data from that trial are under review by an independent panel of experts, Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, told Reuters on Monday.”
Reassurance for the people will come with strong safety results according to Geoffrey Porges, an analyst for the investment bank SVB Leerink.
“The longer this hangs out there, without a comprehensive review and without the U.S. Phase 3 results, the more people are going to be concerned,” Porges told The New York Times.
