The Irish government has suspended the administration of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine with immediate effect on the recommendation of the Dublin vaccination task force. This was reported by a spokesman for the Irish Ministry of Health
The Irish Vaccine Advisory Commission had recommended temporary suspension following new information from the Norwegian drug agency that patients hospitalized for suspected adverse reactions to the vaccine are experiencing bleeding, blood clots and declining platelet counts. Thrombi reported in about thirty patients had already prompted another 7 nations, including Norway, to suspend serum inoculation.
The Commission released the recommendation following new information from the farm agency: “It was concluded that there is no link between AstraZeneca’s vaccine against Covid-19 and these cases”, explained Ronan Glynn, head of the task force, “in any case, acting on the basis of the precautionary principle and pending new information, the Commission recommended the temporary suspension of the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Ireland”.
The Commission will meet today to review new data, Glynn added. In Ireland, 109,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered so far, mostly to healthcare workers.