Denmark suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine
Denmark is suspending the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for two weeks as it investigates reports of some patients developing blood clots after being inoculated.
Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Thursday that authorities were looking into "signs of a possible serious side effect in the form of fatal blood clots," though he made clear it was a "precautionary measure," saying it was not possible yet to conclude whether the clots were linked to the vaccine.
"We act early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated," he said in a tweet.
"We are in the middle of the largest and most important vaccination rollout in Danish history. And right now we need all the vaccines we can get. Therefore, putting one of the vaccines on pause is not an easy decision. But precisely because we vaccinate so many, we also need to respond with timely care when there is knowledge of possible serious side effects. We need to clarify this before we can continue to use the vaccine from AstraZeneca," Søren Brostrøm, director of the National Board of Health, said in the statement.
"It is important to emphasize that we have not opted out of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but that we are putting it on hold. There is good evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective. But both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have to react to reports of possible serious side effects, both from Denmark and other European countries. It shows that the monitoring system works. "
The Danish Medicines Agency said it was working with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the other EU pharmaceutical authorities to investigate several reports of blood clotting.
Several EU countries such as Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Latvia has suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
(CNN)
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