Major weapon against Covid weakened

The furore surrounding the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab is a cautionary tale on the potential pitfalls of developing a vaccine in record time — even if other doses get through the same process with their reputations unscathed.

Several European countries last week suspended use of the British-Swedish shot even as the European Medicines Agency said there was no evidence of a link between it and incidents of a rare type of blood clot.

On Friday the EMA confirmed there was a “clear scientific conclusion” that the vaccine was “safe and effective”. It said “a causal link with the vaccine is not proven” but the blood clot issue “deserves further analysis”.

Countries have resumed use of the vaccine but regrettable damage has been done.

AstraZeneca says there have been 37 reports of blood clots among the more than 17 million people who have received the vaccine in Britain and Europe, adding: “This is much lower than would be expected to occur naturally . . . and is similar across other licensed Covid-19 vaccines.”

European officials said they erred on the side of caution.

But arguably lives were put at risk during a new surge in infections on the continent.

Already-sluggish vaccine rollouts were affected. And trust in the vaccine was undercut.

Trials and real-world data show that all the major vaccines are effective at preventing hospitalisations and deaths from the coronavirus. It is safer to have any one of the vaccines than not.

In New Zealand the Government has chosen to concentrate on the Pfizer/ BioNTech shot for its rollout.

Using the same vaccine makes distribution easier. It’s also easier to make the case for safety and overcome hesitancy through word of mouth and medical advice.

Last year, the single-shot AstraZeneca vaccine had advantages over the double-dose Pfizer/BioNTech. The

AstraZeneca vaccine was cheaper and could be stored at normal fridge temperatures. It is the main vaccine in the Covax initiative to help poor countries. But the vaccine got off on the wrong foot with confusing early test results. An error meant volunteers received a half-dose. There was also a lack of data on its use in older people.

The vaccine got caught up in the tense political aftermath of Brexit between Britain and the EU, and there have been controversies over supply orders and the hoarding of doses.

In Britain 11 million people have had it and three-quarters of people aged over 80 have Covid immunity.

The major losers in all this appear to be the people needing a vaccine.