“I understand that the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready or already considering options to share AstraZeneca vaccines with poorer countries,” Kluge said at a virtual press conference.
Kluge expressed “appreciation” for Denmark’s compliance with WHO recommendations in this matter and its sympathy for the decision to suspend the AstraZeneca vaccine.
At the same time, Denmark became the first European country on Wednesday to reject AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine due to a link to very rare cases of blood clots.
A day later, the Norwegian Public Health Institute also recommended that jabi should no longer be used.
However, the WHO has reiterated that jab is “safe and effective” against COVID-19 and that the risk of thrombosis and blood clots is “much higher” if you become infected with the virus.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has concluded that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of side effects, explaining that COVID-19 is a “very serious disease”.
On the other hand, other EU Member States have limited doses of AstraZeneca to certain age groups.
The Danish authorities have said “it is important to emphasize that it (AstraZeneca) is still an approved vaccine” and did not rule out its use in the future amid increased infection rates in the country.
On Wednesday, the Czech Minister of Health Jan Hamacek tweeted that his country would be interested in the remaining doses in Denmark.
“We are looking for vaccines from all over the world, we are ready to buy AstraZeneca from Denmark,” Hamacek said.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Simonyte Vilnius also said it was willing to buy vaccines, and neighboring Latvia has also expressed interest.
“We are contacting Denmark to find out how these vaccines can be applied for,” tweeted the Latvian Minister of Health Daniels Pavluts.
However, it is not yet clear whether such transactions are possible and permissible under EU procurement rules.
Several Danish political parties have also suggested that the extra doses be distributed to Danes who are willing to receive AstraZeneca despite the suspension by the health authorities.
The European Commission currently has a portfolio of 2.6 billion doses from a number of companies, including AstraZeneca, and is negotiating new agreements.
Norway should stop using AstraZeneca, says the country’s Public Health Service
The day after Denmark decided to abandon the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine because of very rare blood clots, the Norwegian Public Health Institute announced on Thursday that the country would stop using it.
Both the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency have said that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks.
“There is now significantly more information on the link between AstraZeneca and rare and severe low platelets, blood clots and bleeding than when Norway decided to suspend AstraZeneca in March,” said Geir Bukholm, Director of Infection Control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
“Based on this information, we have received a recommendation that AstraZeneca should be removed from the coronary vaccination program in Norway.”
Authorities had suspended the introduction of the vaccine on March 11 after a small number of people who had received jabi were hospitalized with a combination of blood clots and low platelets, and three cases proved fatal.
Bukholm said Norway should stop using the vaccine when there is “significantly more information” about the link between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots and platelets.
The institute estimates that withdrawing the distribution of the AstraZeneca jab would likely delay the overall introduction of the vaccine by two weeks.
Bukholm said the recommendation was not easy to reach. However, he suggested he believed it was a necessary step.
Those who have already received the first dose of AstraZeneca are expected to be offered a second dose of coronavirus surgery.
However, the National Institute of Public Health said it would provide more information on the details of the program in the coming days.
Source: ANI
Source: The Nordic Page