Ireland suspends use of Oxford- Astrazeneca vaccine
THE use of the Oxford- Astrazeneca vaccine has been suspended in the Republic of Ireland.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee ( NIAC) recommended the move following reports of serious blood clotting events in adults in Norway. In a tweet, the Irish Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said it was a “precautionary step”.
The World Health Organisation has said there was no link between the jab and an increased risk of developing a clot. Last week, Denmark and Norway suspended the use of vaccine.
On Friday, the World Health Organisation said countries should not stop using the vaccine over fears it causes blood clots as there is no indication this is true.
More than 110,000 doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine have been administered in Ireland, which is about 20 per cent of all doses given to date.
Earlier on Sunday, Ireland’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said new information was received from the Norwegian Medicines Agency on Saturday night.
“It has not been concluded that there is any link between the Covid- 19 vaccine Astrazeneca and these cases,” he said.
“However, acting on the precautionary principle, and pending receipt of further information, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee has recommended the temporary deferral of the Covid- 19 vaccine Astrazeneca vaccination programme in Ireland.”
In a statement to RTÉ, Astrazeneca said that an analysis of safety data covering more than 17 million doses of the vaccine administered has shown no evidence of an increased risk of the conditions concerned, and that no trends or patterns were observed in clinical trials.