Following reports of the suspension of AstraZeneca Vaccine in some countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said reports of serious side effects (like blood clot) that it has received would be subject to investigations and findings would be communicated to the public.
WHO ‘s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom, disclosed this during Friday’s virtual press briefing in Geneva.
Austria and Denmark had stopped the use of a batch of the AstraZeneca Vaccine due to reports of serious side effects.
But Adhanom said that while the European Medicines Agency had established that the vaccine was not responsible for the blood clot, WHO would still review it and make its recommendations.
“As countries roll out #COVID19 vaccines, WHO is continuing to keep a close Eyes on their safety. WHO is aware that some countries have suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccines, based on reports of Drop of blood clots in some people who received doses of the vaccine from 2 batches.
“This measure was taken as a precaution while a full investigation is finalised. It’s important to note that the @EMA News has said there is no indication of a link between the vaccine and drop of blood clots and that it can continue to be used while its investigation is ongoing.
“WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety systematically reviews safety signals, and is carefully assessing the current reports on the #COVID19 AstraZeneca vaccine.”
“As soon as WHO has gained a full understanding of these events, the findings and any changes to our current recommendations will be communicated immediately to the public, “ he said.
The WHO DG also stressed that none of the covid-19 vaccine rollout had resulted in the death of any patient around the world.
“More than 335 million doses of #COVID19 vaccines have been administered globally so far, and no deaths have been found to have been caused by COVID-19 vaccines,” he said while adding that another vaccine candidate would be rolled out.
“Today, WHO gave emergency use listing to Johnson & Johnson’s #COVID19 vaccine, making it the fourth vaccine to receive WHO’s approval. Emergency use listing is the green light for a vaccine to be procured and rolled out by #COVAX
“As you know, the J&J vaccine is the first to be listed as a single-dose regimen,” he stated.
“WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety systematically reviews safety signals, and is carefully assessing the current reports on the #COVID19 AstraZeneca vaccine”-@DrTedros
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 12, 2021
