Netherlands: Suspends Astrazeneca vaccine until March 29

H Netherlands will suspend its use for precautionary reasons until at least March 29 AstraZeneca vaccine for the new coronavirus, the Dutch government announced yesterday Sunday.

The move, which follows similar decisions in many other countries, is based on reports from Denmark and Norway about possible serious side effects of the vaccine, the government said.

“Based on new information, the Dutch Medicines Authority recommends, as a precautionary measure and pending further investigations, that the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 be suspended,” the Dutch Ministry of Health announced.

The Dutch health authorities will be forced to cancel 43,000 vaccination appointments against Covid-19 following the government’s decision, the state news agency ANP reported late yesterday.

Three health workers in Norway who recently had the British-Swedish company vaccinated for Covid-19 are being treated for thrombosis, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health announced on Saturday.

Norway, such as Iceland or Denmark, announced the suspension of the vaccine on Thursday. Bulgaria followed on Friday, Ireland yesterday and Thailand delayed its campaign.

There have been no similar cases of side effects in the Netherlands so far, the Dutch ministry said, but advised people who have received the vaccine to contact their doctor if they experience symptoms “unexpected and / or unknown” after three days.

Yesterday AstraZeneca Plc announced that it had performed a test on people who had been vaccinated with its Covid-19 vaccine, which showed no evidence of an increased risk of developing blood clots. The test covered 17 million vaccinated people in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The World Health Organization assured on Friday that “there is no reason not to use” this vaccine.

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