AstraZeneca shots paused for some

Canada is suspending the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for people under the age of 55 following concerns it may be linked to rare blood clots.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended a pause on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations for people under 55 for safety reasons and the Canadian provinces, which administer health in the country, announced the suspensions Monday.

“There is substantial uncertainty about the ben- efit of providing AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to adults under 55 given the potential risks,” Dr. Shelley Deeks, Vice Chair of the National Advisory Commit- tee on Immunization, said.

Dr. Joss Reimer of Mani- toba’s Vaccine Implementa- tion Task Force said despite the finding that there was no increase risk of blood clots overall related to AstraZeneca in Europe, a rare but very serious side effect has been seen primarily in young women in Europe.

“So out of abundance of caution, Manitoba will be recommending that these vaccines only be used in people who are 55 or older at this time. I do want to say this is a pause while we wait for more information to better understand what we are seeing in Europe,” Reimer said.

Reimer s aid the rare type of blood clot happens somewhere around one in 100,000 or one in a million people who receive AstraZeneca. She said it typically happens between four and 20 days after getting the shot and the symptoms can mir- ror a stroke or a heart attack.

Reimer said they have not seen any of these cases in Canada.

“While we still believe the benefits for all ages outweigh the risks I’m not comfortable with ‘probably.’ I want to see more data coming out of Europe so I know exactly what this risk-benefit analysis is,” Reimer said.

The AstraZeneca shot, which has been authorized in more than 70 countries, is a pillar of a U.N.-backed project known as COVAX that aims to get COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries. It has also become a key tool in European countries’ efforts to boost their sluggish vaccine rollouts. That makes doubts about the shots especially worrying.

Health Canada, the country’s regulator, called the pause a precautionary measure.

Several European coun- tries that had suspended using the vaccine over con- cerns it could cause blood clots have resumed administering it after the EU’s drug regulator said the vaccine was safe.

Canada is expected to receive 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca from the U.S. this week.