AstraZeneca: Denmark, Norway, and Iceland halt use of COVID-19 vaccine due to blood clotting reports

AstraZeneca is one of the COVID-19 vaccines that are being distributed worldwide. While there is positive feedback, there are worrying reports as well, and this is why some countries have suspended the inoculation of the citizens using the AstraZeneca vaccine.

CNN News reported that three countries, including Denmark, Iceland, and Norway, have announced their move to stop the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The countries stated they would resume the vaccinations once the European Union's medicines regulator clears the vaccine from possible link to the reported formation of blood clots.

Denmark stressed the suspension of AstraZeneca is temporary

Health regulators are investigating the reports of blood clotting, so in the meantime, Denmark announced a 2-week suspension for vaccinations using the AstraZeneca brand. Norway and Iceland also declared the pullout of the said vaccine but did not say when they will bring back AstraZeneca.

Denmark’s minister of health, Magnus Heunicke, reiterated that the move is just a precautionary measure and the vaccine could be used again later. "We act early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated," he tweeted.

"We are in the middle of the largest and most important vaccination rollout in Danish history. And right now we need all the vaccines we can get,” Søren Brostrøm, Danish National Board of Health director, said in a statement. “Therefore, putting one of the vaccines on pause is not an easy decision but we need to clarify this before we can continue to use the vaccine from AstraZeneca."

The cases of blood clotting

The mentioned three countries paused the use of AstraZeneca vaccines that were developed together with the University of Oxford. This action was taken due to the reports of severe blood clots in individuals who have received their shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

This is quite fatal, according to the accounts, and it was not just one person, but several of them have reported the same condition of clotting. There was also a report of death, but it is still not certain if the vaccine caused it or contributed to the case. With these incidents, the government immediately halted the inoculations.

“Patient safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca,” AstraZeneca told CNBC in response to the suspensions. “Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in Phase III clinical trials.”

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca stocks went down by 2.5% on Thursday, following the news of the vaccines' possible adverse effects.