More Nations Pause AstraZeneca Vaccinations Amid Blood Clot Worries
Italy, Iceland and Thailand join a growing list of countries pausing use of AstraZeneca covid vaccines due to reports of blood clot problems post-vaccination. Meanwhile, reports show the U.S. is sitting on tens of millions of doses and is unlikely to share.
CNN:
AstraZeneca Vaccine Suspended By Several European Nations As Blood Clot Reports Investigated
Denmark, Iceland and Norway have suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine while the European Union's medicines regulator investigates whether the shot could be linked to a number of reports of blood clots. Denmark announced a two-week suspension on Thursday following a number of reports of clotting in the country, including one fatal case. Iceland and Norway followed suit, but did not say how long their suspensions would last. (Mortensen, Elwazer and Siad, 3/11)
The Washington Post:
More Nations Suspend Use Of AstraZeneca Vaccine As E.U. Probes Blood Clot Concerns
A growing number of countries in Europe and elsewhere have halted the use of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, after people reportedly developed blood clots in the days following vaccination — and despite a lack of formal evidence that the shot is unsafe. Italy, Romania and Thailand joined at least eight other European nations this week in suspending the injections either from specific batches or as part of a total freeze, citing the potential adverse events, while the European Union’s drug regulator conducts an investigation. (Cunningham, 3/12)
CNBC:
AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Suspended In Some Countries Over Blood Clot Fears
The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has now been suspended in a number of countries across Europe and Asia, following reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people. Many other nations, however, have defended their use of the shot and said they will continue their respective inoculation campaigns. (Meredith, 3/12)
Bloomberg:
Australia Backs AstraZeneca Vaccine As Blood Clots Probed
Australia won’t pause the rollout of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine, even as some European countries temporarily suspend use of the shots while possible blood clots are investigated. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that health authorities had not raised any concerns about the vaccine and would continue to monitor developments overseas. Officials spoke with the European Medicines Agency overnight, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. (McKay, 3/12)
In other global vaccine developments —
Reuters:
Exclusive: EU Told To Expect No AstraZeneca Vaccines From U.S. In Near Future - Sources
Washington has told the European Union that it should not expect to receive AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines manufactured in the United States any time soon, two EU sources said on Thursday, in a new blow to the bloc’s supplies. The U.S. message could complicate vaccination plans in the 27-nation EU, which has been grappling since January with delays in deliveries from vaccine makers. (Guarascio and Chalmers, 3/11)
The New York Times:
The U.S. Is Sitting On Tens Of Millions Of Vaccine Doses The World Needs
Tens of millions of doses of the coronavirus vaccine made by the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca are sitting idly in American manufacturing facilities, awaiting results from its U.S. clinical trial while countries that have authorized its use beg for access. The fate of those doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine is the subject of an intense debate among White House and federal health officials, with some arguing the administration should let them go abroad where they are desperately needed while others are not ready to relinquish them, according to senior administration officials. (Weiland and Robbins, 3/11)
Axios:
Biden And Leaders Of Australia, India, Japan To Unveil Plan To Boost Asia's Vaccine Supply
President Biden and his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia — collectively known as "the Quad" — will announce a plan to increase vaccine supplies to countries in Asia during a video summit on Friday, a senior administration official told reporters. This is the first time that a Quad summit will bring together the leaders of all four countries, demonstrating a growing commitment to a group the U.S. sees as key to countering the influence of China in the Indo-Pacific. (Allen-Ebrahimian and Lawler, 3/12)
Bloomberg:
It’s Still ‘America First’ On Vaccines As Russia, China Fill Gap
After failing to broker a deal with Pfizer Inc., Argentine President Alberto Fernandez was so desperate to secure Covid-19 vaccines that he rushed a passenger plane to Moscow in December to bring in Sputnik V doses before his own regulators had a chance to approve the shot. The approval for emergency use arrived hours before the Aerolineas Argentina flight carrying 300,000 of the Russian shots landed at the Buenos Aires airport, to much media fanfare. (Wainer and Gillespie, 3/12)
Axios:
Most Developing Countries Still Haven't Administered A Single Vaccine Dose
Wealthy nations — including the U.S., the U.K. and the EU — have vaccinated their citizens at a rate of one person per second over the last month, while most developing countries still haven't administered a single shot, according to the People's Vaccine Alliance. As higher-income countries aim to achieve herd immunity in a matter of months, most of the world's vulnerable people will remain unprotected. (Owens, 3/11)
