Tag Archives: NORWAY

Italy and France have announced their readiness to resume vaccination of AstraZeneca

The authorities of Italy and France announced their readiness to resume the use of the coronavirus vaccine, which was created by the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, in the vaccination campaigns of their countries. This is reported on the website of the Italian government.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi held a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. They discussed the suspension of the AstraZeneca drug in some European countries. “This is a temporary precautionary measure that will last until Thursday, March 18, until the analysis of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is completed,” the report said.

If the EMA gives a positive verdict on the drug, Italy, and France are ready to “immediately return to its use”.

20 European countries have decided to ban the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The authorities of Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain have partially or completely stopped vaccination. The cause was the occurrence of thrombosis in the vaccinated.

At the same time, the company stated about the safety of the vaccine. AstraZeneca explained that a detailed study of the health status of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the EU and the UK with the coronavirus drug showed no data on an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, or thrombocytopenia.

In Norway, three doctors developed blood clots after the AstraZeneca vaccine

Anyone who has taken this medicine in the last couple of weeks is asked to check their skin for blue spots

In Norway, which has already suspended the use of the coronavirus vaccine produced by AstraZeneca, after immunizing with this drug, three health workers were hospitalized due to the formation of blood clots.

This is reported by the publication Aftenposten.

The first two middle-aged medics were admitted to the hospital on March 12, and another one the next day. Exactly when they received the vaccine is not specified, but it is known that it happened recently.

The kingdom’s pharmaceutical regulator, the Norwegian Medicines Agency, is checking for a link between what happened and the effect of the vaccine.

“We cannot yet say for sure about the connection of the vaccine with the formation of blood clots,” said Sigurd Hortemo, a representative of the agency.

Previously, the cause of blood clots may be a decrease in the number of platelets, but this side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine is not known.

Against this background, all Norwegians under the age of 50 who were vaccinated with this drug over the past two weeks were asked to pay special attention to their health, and if there are characteristic signs — increased pain and the formation of blue spots on the skin — to consult a doctor.

Another case is also noted-10 days after receiving one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a female health worker under the age of 30 from the municipality of Sunset in southern Norway died of a brain hemorrhage.

At the same time, it was not possible to officially prove the connection of any fatal cases among vaccinated people with immunization.

Recall that due to rumors about the formation of blood clots after the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, it has been temporarily discontinued in at least 14 countries around the world.

EU urged to expand the list of side effects of AstraZeneca vaccine

The European Medicines Agency recommends expanding the list of side effects of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. In particular, we are talking about anaphylactic reaction and hypersensitivity.

This was reported on the regulator’s website.

“Following reports of safety concerns regarding cases of anaphylaxis (severe allergic reactions) with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, PRAC recommends updating the product information to include anaphylaxis and hypersensitivity (allergic reactions) as side effects in section 4.8,” said message.

This decision was made due to reports of possible anaphylaxis, which was observed in about five million vaccinated.

“After careful examination of the data, the PRAC concluded that at least some of these cases have a vaccine-related relationship,” the regulator said.

As previously reported, the EU countries are massively stopping the use of the drug from the coronavirus company AstraZeneca. Refused vaccination already in Denmark, Norway, Italy, Iceland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Thailand.

Germany refused to stop vaccination of AstraZeneca after the death of patients

Germany will not suspend the use of the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine in the country, despite reports of deaths due to blood clots in patients who received it. This was reported at the Paul Ehrlich Institute for the Development of Vaccines and Biomedical Medicines, which is responsible for the admission and control of drugs.

“There is still no evidence that the death in Denmark is associated with the vaccine against COVID-19 from AstraZeneca,” the department said. Currently, 11 cases of thromboembolic complications are known in Germany, four people have died. However, the link between vaccination and complications has not yet been identified.

Earlier, three European countries — Italy, Norway, and Denmark — stopped vaccination against coronavirus with doses from the ABV285 batch of the AstraZeneca drug. The authorities clarified that this is a precautionary measure: in all cases, it has not been proven that death is somehow related to the consequences of vaccination.

The unknown strain of coronavirus discovered in the UK

A new, previously unknown strain of coronavirus has been discovered in the UK.

This was reported by the Office of Public Health England.

Two cases of the new variant of the virus, dubbed VUI-202103/01, have been identified in the southeast in people who recently returned from Antigua.

It is noted that this strain contains spike mutations E484K and N501Y. The management has not yet provided more detailed information on this variant of the virus.

“Identification of contacts has been completed, no additional cases have been found at the moment,” the message says.

As previously reported, Norway, Italy, and Iceland, following Denmark, are stopping the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. The decision is related to the possible side effects of the drug.

In addition, scientists have found that Pfizer’s vaccine is effective against the British strain of coronavirus.