The Region of Sicily has suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 60 as a precaution. The provision was adopted with a circular from the general manager of the regional department for health activities and interim epidemiological observatory of the Sicilian Region Mario La Rocca. “It is a decision taken as a precautionary measure, as has been done by other Regions – explains La Rocca to beraking latest news – while waiting for the CTS to decide on this”.
The opinion of the Technical Scientific Committee (CTS) on the use of the AstraZeneca (AZ) anti-Covid vaccine for young people aged 18 and over will consider the indications already given by the Ministry of Health and the Italian drug agency Aifa, or that for this immunizer a preferential use is recommended for subjects over-60.
“In the light of recent press reports – reads the circular signed by the director of Dasoe (Department of Health Activities and Epidemiological Observatory) of the Sicilian Region Mario La Rocca – relating to the positions taken by the president of the Technical Scientific Committee, in reference to the risk balance – benefits, regarding the administration of the Vaxzevria vaccine (by AstraZeneca) to subjects under the age of 60, and pending an official ruling by the same body, the suspension with immediate effect of the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine is ordered as a precaution to all citizens under the age of 60 ”.
The reference refers to the administration of the first doses because, writes La Rocca, «however, in the absence of contrary scientific evidence, the possibility of proceeding with the inoculation of the second dose of vaccine to those entitled to it remains firm».
In these hours, the experts would be moving towards a synthesis of their evaluations, which – according to what has been learned – would go towards a reorganization of the vaccination campaign, therefore also of the administration of the different types of vaccine according to age, in light of the changed framework epidemiological. But the decisions will still be up to politics.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza himself anticipates the line, but in the meantime it is ‘chaos’ in the Regions, which are proceeding in no particular order, while various experts indicate to complete the vaccination cycle with AstraZeneca anyway if a first dose has already been had. .
The question arose following the open days organized by various Regions with the AZ vaccine and also open to young people from the age of 18, and after two cases of rare thrombosis occurred in young women in recent weeks. In this regard, responding to the question time in the Senate, Speranza stressed that on April 7 the ministry, with a circular, “has already recommended the preferential use of the AZ vaccine to over-60s and Aifa reiterated that the benefit profile- risk is more conducive to increasing age “. These assessments, he anticipated, “will certainly be considered in the next CTS opinion”. However, all vaccines are “safe and effective”, the minister specified.
The problem is linked to the question of the disposal of AZ doses, however various Regions have decided to stick to the indication of Aifa and the ministry.
«At this moment, whoever has taken the first dose with a vaccine should take the second dose with the same vaccine. This is because the experimental tests that led to the approval of these vaccines were carried out on the administration of two doses for the same vaccine and demonstrated adequate conditions of safety and protection », said Walter Ricciardi, consultant to the Minister of Health. On the same line the virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco and the infectious disease specialist Massimo Andreoni, according to whom the rare adverse events occurred essentially after the first dose and the risk is very low. Confirmation comes from the 5th AIFA Pharmacovigilance Report on Covid Vaccines: the cases of intracranial and atypical venous thrombosis in subjects vaccinated with AZ are in line with what has been observed at European level, i.e. 1 case for every 100,000 first doses administered and mainly in people with less than 60 years. No cases were reported after the second dose. Overall, for all vaccines, there are 66,258 reports of adverse events out of a total of 32,429,611 doses administered (reporting rate of 204 per 100,000 doses), of which 90% for non-serious events. Most concern Pfizer’s Comirnaty (71.8%), the most used (68.7% of the doses administered).