Denmark drops Astrazeneca vaccine entirely
Danish health authorities announce use of jab has permanently stopped after blood clot link concerns
DENMARK became the first country in the world to permanently stop using the Astrazeneca vaccine yesterday, as the European Commission hinted that Brussels would not renew its contract with the company next year.
Danish health authorities said they would stop using the Oxford University jab after reports of rare but serious cases of blood clots in the brain among those who had received the vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency has said that the benefits of the vaccine, which is significantly cheaper than the others and easy to store, by far outweigh the health risks.
Denmark was the first EU country to suspend the use of the vaccine on March 11 and some nations including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands have limited its use to the over-55s and 60s. The UK has restricted it to the over-30s.
Portugal has called on all EU countries to adopt the same “over-60s only” policy as part of a common approach.
The suspension of the Astrazeneca jab will delay Denmark’s ambitious vaccine rollout plans by a few weeks although it expects to reach everyone by early August as it eases lockdown restrictions.
So far almost one million people out of a population of 5.8million have received their first shots, with 77 per cent having the Pfizer vaccine, 7.8 per cent receiving the Moderna dose and 15.3 per cent the Astrazeneca jab.
The Danish have now suspended the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the company halted its EU rollout yesterday, amid US reports it could cause blood clots.
An Astrazeneca spokesman said: “We recognise and respect the decision taken by Sundh eds st yr else n in Denmark. Implementation and roll out of the vaccine programme is a matter for each country to decide, based on local conditions.”
Astrazeneca is embroiled in a row with the European Commission over missed delivery targets. Brussels accuses the Anglo-swedish pharmaceutical company of breaking its contract, which it denies.
In Brussels, Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said officials had to focus “on technologies that have proven their worth” as she thanked Biontech-pfizer for being a “reliable partner”.
Her comments follow reports in Italy’s La Stampa newspaper that the commission will not be renewing its contract with Astrazeneca next year.
A commission spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “We keep all options open to be prepared for the next stages of the pandemic, for 2022 and beyond. We can, however, not comment on contractual issues.”
He said that negotiations had begun with Pfizer for a contract of 1.8billion doses over three years with all production and raw materials being based in the EU.
The commission is also seeking clarification about J&J’S “completely unexpected” announcement of delays in vaccine deliveries to the EU.