Foreign

Denmark Reports Two Cases of Serious Illness, Death, after Astrazeneca Shot

By Web News 691

Denmark said on Saturday that one person had died and another fell seriously ill with blood clots and cerebral haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination.

The two, both hospital staff members, had both received the AstraZeneca vaccine less than 14 days before getting ill, the authority that runs public hospitals in Copenhagen said.

The Danish Medicines Agency confirmed it had received two “serious reports”, without giving further details. There were no details of when the hospital staff got ill.

Denmark, which halted using the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 11, was among more than a dozen countries that temporarily paused use of the vaccine after a small number of reports of cases of rare brain blood clots sent scientists and governments scrambling to determine any link.

Some countries including Germany and France this week reversed their decision to suspend use of the vaccine following an investigation into the reports of blood clots by the European Union’s drug watchdog, which said on Thursday it is still convinced the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

Denmark – along with Sweden and Norway – said on Friday they needed more time to decide whether to use the vaccine.

“We prioritize reports of suspected serious side effects such as these and examine them thoroughly to assess whether there is a possible link to the vaccine,” Tanja Erichsen, acting director of Pharmacovigilance at the Danish Medicines Agency, said in a tweet on Saturday.

“We are in the process of dealing with the two specific cases.”

European Medicines Agency (EMA) director Emer Cooke said on Thursday the watchdog could not definitively rule out a link between blood clot incidents and the vaccine in its investigation.

But she said the “clear” conclusion of the review was that the benefits in protecting people from the risk of death or hospitalisation outweighs the possible risks. The issue deserves further analysis, the EMA said.

The EMA’s review covering 20 million people in the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA), which links 30 European countries, included seven cases of blood clots in multiple blood vessels and 18 cases of a rare condition that is difficult to treat called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST).

AstraZeneca, which developed the shot with Oxford University, has said a review covering more than 17 million people who had received its shots in the EU and Britain had found no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.

The company on Saturday declined to comment on the new cases in Denmark, but referred to a statement published on Thursday, in which its chief medical officer, Ann Taylor, said:

“Vaccine safety is paramount and we welcome the regulators’ decisions which affirm the overwhelming benefit of our vaccine in stopping the pandemic. We trust that, after the regulators’ careful decisions, vaccinations can once again resume across Europe.”

Reuters

Health

Lagos Vaccinates 12,720 People in 48 Hours

By Web News 644


The Lagos State Government says it has vaccinated 12,720 people with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine 48 hours after the vaccination exercise commenced in the state.

The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, made this known through his verified Twitter account @ProfAkinAbayomi, on Thursday while giving the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination update for March 16.

He said that from the 12, 720 people vaccinated, 6,535 were males, while 6,185 females.

The state government started its COVID-19 vaccination exercise on March 15 in 88 health facilities, including military and police hospitals, which have been selected to provide vaccination across the 20 local government areas.

It officially flagged off the roll-out, distribution and administration of the COVID-19 Vaccine on March 12 at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba.

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, the state Commissioner for Health, some frontline healthcare workers, among other frontline workers, were vaccinated on March 12.

The state vaccinated 268 people on March 12 at three centres as part of the activities of the vaccine roll-out, while 4,954 were vaccinated on March 15 across the 88 designated vaccine sites across the state.

 On the breakdown of the category of people vaccinated on March 16, Abayomi said that healthcare workers, other frontline workers and strategic leaders in the state were vaccinated.

According to him, the total number of people vaccinated on the reported date were 7,498, with sex distribution being 3,770 males and 3, 728 females.

“Number of male healthcare workers vaccinated were 1,510 and female healthcare workers were 1, 932, making a total of 3,442.

Other frontline workers vaccinated were 2,116 males and 1,680 females, totalling 3,796,” he said.

The commissioner said that 260 strategic leaders in the state were inoculated, comprising 144 men and 116 women. Earlier, Abayomi said that vaccination could only be obtained at any of the 88 accredited facilities listed.

 “Vaccination outside of these locations in Lagos State is highly prohibited, and will attract heavy sanctions through our regulatory agencies,” the commissioner warned.

He assured residents that there was no cause for anxiety concerning getting vaccinated.

“I encourage Lagos residents to be readily available for vaccination, just as Mr Governor @jidesanwoolu, frontline workers and I have been vaccinated.

“It is our personal and collective responsibility to be vaccinated to prevent severity of third and fourth waves of COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. NAN/Vanguard

Health

No Evidence Of Blood Clot Caused By Astrazeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine – Experts

By Web News 723

A 60-year old Danish woman who died of a blood clot after receiving AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine had “highly unusual” symptoms, the Danish Medicines Agency said late on Sunday.

It said the woman had a low number of blood platelets and clots in small and large vessels, as well as bleeding.

European vaccination programmes have been upset in the last two weeks by reports that recipients of the AstraZeneca inoculation have suffered blood clots.

About a dozen places suspended the shot.

The European Medicines Agency has said there was no indication that the events were caused by the vaccination, a view that was echoed by the World Health Organization on Friday.

AstraZeneca Plc said on Sunday a review of safety data of people vaccinated with its COVID-19 vaccine has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.

Over 345 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have so far been administered worldwide.

Nigeria began vaccination on March 5, with President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo, Governors and health workers taking the shot publicly to counter hesitancy.

Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) said the batch procured by Nigeria was safe, advising all to get vaccinated.

Frcn, Abuja.