Common vaccine approach preferable

Views from around the world. These opinions are not necessarily shared by Stuff newspapers.

The latest guidance from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on AstraZeneca’s Covid19 vaccine has largely left it to EU states themselves to decide what restrictions should be imposed on its use. The EMA said blood clots are a rare side-effect but that its benefits in protecting against the virus outweighed the risk and there was no evidence to justify limiting its administration to specific age groups.

Nonetheless, 17 member states have done that, mostly to restrict its use among younger people. The first Irish case of the very rare blood clot after vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine is being investigated in a 40-year-old Dublin woman.

The fact that the EMA was in a position to issue its advice at this stage shows systems in place to monitor realworld vaccine safety are working well. Suspected side-effects were reported rapidly, and experts came together swiftly to assess evidence. That should reassure the European public, as should the headline finding that AstraZeneca’s shot should continue to be administered.

But it could damage public confidence to have 27 member states introduce different restrictions for the same vaccine. A common approach would be in keeping with the thrust of the health advice, that the risks are extremely small while the protection it offers is significant indeed.