BRUSSELS SHAME: What on Earth are EU playing at – vaccine rollout anger at AZ ban
Oxford vaccine: Germany's halt of rollout discussed by expert
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France, Italy, Spain and Germany are among those to halt the vaccine over unproven fears it causes blood clots. But the Prime Minister said there was “no reason at all to discontinue the vaccination programme, or either of the vaccines that we’re currently using”. The mass revolt by European nations was blasted yesterday as likely to do “more harm than good”.
Despite Europe’s medical regulator the EMA saying the benefits of taking the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine “outweigh the risks of side effects”, a series of countries have suspended it. So far, it is thought 12 EU nations have paused use.
Asked yesterday whether he could reassure the public that the vaccine was safe, the PM said: “Yes, I can. In the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency we have one of the toughest and most experienced regulators in the world.
“They see no reason at all to discontinue the vaccination programme, for either of the vaccines that we’re currently using.”
Mr Johnson said Britain’s top experts believed the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines were “highly effective in driving down not just hospitalisation but also serious disease and mortality”.
He added: “We continue to be very confident about the programme and it’s great to see it being rolled out at such speed across the UK.” Figures yesterday showed more than 24.4 million people have received a first dose in the UK.
The latest seven-day rolling average for doses delivered per day was just under 300,000.
At that rate, the UK could reach the milestone of vaccinating half its adult population in around a week.
But a number of countries, including Germany, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Austria, Estonia and Lithuania, have suspended use of the Oxford jab in recent days as their vaccination programmes flounder.
They acted independently after reports emerged of a small number of blood clots among people who had received the jab.
Yesterday, a series of experts hit out at their stance and defended the Oxford jab, saying data from millions of people immunised showed no evidence of a problem. Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, a statistician from the University of Cambridge, said: “These pauses, I don’t think you can consider these as being cautious.
“They actually could be doing more harm than good. If it means there is a delay in rolling out the vaccine to people who would otherwise have a vaccine, then that will cause harm.
“I’ve looked at AstraZeneca reports and they’ve said that 17 million jabs across the EU and the UK had been administered, and they’ve had about 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis and 22 cases of pulmonary embolism reported.”
German MEP Gunnar Beck said: “There is as yet no clear evidence that the AstraZeneca vaccine is generally less effective or generally more dangerous than other EU or US vaccines.
“What we do know is that it is considerably cheaper.” Scores of scientists, including some at the World Health Organisation, have also said there is no evidence of a link between the clots and the vaccine.
Professor Andrew Pollard, head of the Oxford University vaccine group, said regulators were right to investigate but insisted safety data was “very reassuring”.
He said around 3,000 cases of blood clots occur every month in the UK from other causes.
He added: “When you then put a vaccination campaign on top of that, clearly those blood clots still happen and you’ve got to then try and separate out whether, when they occur, they are at all related to the vaccine or not.”
Dr Phil Bryan, the MHRA vaccines safety lead, said the number of blood clots reported among more than 11 million people who have received the Oxford jab in the UK was no higher than would be expected to occur naturally.
He said: “We are closely reviewing reports but the evidence available does not suggest the vaccine is the cause.
“People should still go and get their Covid-19 vaccine when asked to do so.”
Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, also sought to reassure the public.
He said: “The data that we look at on a weekly basis on JCVI and a daily basis at MHRA is reassuring that there is no link, so we are right in this country to press on.
“We will keep monitoring this and if there is any safety signals that we are concerned about, we would let the public know straight away.
“At the moment, the message is absolutely clear – go and get your vaccine when offered.
“I spent all yesterday in our practice vaccinating with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. I would not be immunising my own patients unless I felt it was safe.”
Prof Harnden also said of the UK’s vaccination programme: “Most people over the age of 50 will be vaccinated really within the next few weeks, so it is tremendously successful.
“We’re feeling very optimistic. We’re seeing a very sharp reduction in the deaths and hospitalisations throughout the country.”
The rate of immunisations is expected to increase in the coming weeks as more doses become available.
A letter to regional leaders from NHS England earlier this month said supply would “increase substantially” in mid-March.
NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said: “It’s brilliant news that we look set to offer half of all adults in England their first jab this week.
“Our vaccination programme is an incredible achievement and we owe this success to frontline NHS staff in trusts and primary care with the invaluable support of volunteers.
“Despite the positive progress we must continue to follow the lockdown rules.
“This will help prevent unnecessary deaths and allow Covid-19 case numbers to fall even further.”
Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “The response of GPs and their teams to the Covid vaccination programme has been phenomenal.”
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