'No indication not to use': WHO backs AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine amid blood clot fears

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 12 said that there was no reason as of now for nations to suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as several European nations halted its roll-out over fears of blood clots. United Nations (UN) health agency spokesperson Margaret Harris told the reporters that “Yes, we should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine” and added, “There is no indication to not use it.”

The reassurance from WHO over AstraZeneca jabs amid the COVID-19 pandemic came as most recently, Denmark, Iceland and Norway suspended the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine even as the European Union (EU) medical regulator investigates whether the shot could be linked to the several reports of blood clots. Denmark had announced a 14-day suspension on Thursday after at least one fatal case, among others of blood clots. Similarly, Iceland and Norway followed suit without mentioning how long the suspension would last. 

Danish minister called it acting ‘early’

As per a CNN report, Danish health minister Magnus Heunicke clearly mentioned that the suspension of AstraZeneca jabs was a “precautionary measure” and noted that at the time, it was not possible to make any conclusion. In a tweet he had said, “We act early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated” while the Danish health ministry stressed that the decision was temporary.

Speaking to the media outlet, Kjartan Njálsson, assistant to the director of health in Iceland said that even though there had not been any reports of patients developing blood clots in the European country, they were waiting for the recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). EMA had later said that it did not recommend suspending the use of the vaccine. 

EMA clarified that there was “currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine...The vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing.” However, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health had said in a separate statement that it decided to “pause” AstraZeneca vaccinations following the report of a death in Denmark as a result of a blood clot.