European Medicines Agency - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

Some countries limit AstraZeneca vaccine use, EU findings on J&J shot expected

SOME countries are restricting use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to certain age groups, or suspending use, after European and British regulators confirmed possible links to rare blood clots. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine has also been hit by concerns over blood clots. European regulators will issue findings later of their review into clotting issues in adults who had received the shot in the United States. U.S. health agencies recommended pausing the single shot's use temporarily on April 13 after reports of six cases in women under 50. A health advisory panel will meet on April 23 to discuss whether the…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

European countries may have to mix COVID-19 shots amid AstraZeneca crisis

COVID-19

MATTHIAS BLAMONT, GWLADYS FOUCHE and ESSI LOHTO SEVERAL European countries are considering mixing up COVID-19 vaccines for citizens who received a first dose of AstraZeneca's shot, an unprecedented move that highlights challenges for governments struggling to tame fresh rises in infections. Vaccination programmes have been upset after a small number of reports that recipients of the AstraZeneca inoculation have suffered extremely rare blood clots, leading some countries worldwide to suspend its use out of caution. A senior official for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an interview published on Tuesday there was a link between the vaccine and rare…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Countries resume use of AstraZeneca vaccine

COVID-19

MANY countries are resuming the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine after the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization said the benefits outweighed the risks following investigations into reports of blood clots. At least 17 countries in Europe had suspended or delayed use of the vaccine after reports of people being admitted to hospitals with clotting issues and bleeding after being inoculated. AstraZeneca and the EMA have said concerns about coagulation disorders did not emerge in human trials, with the WHO recommending inoculations continue as the global coronavirus death toll passes 2.8 million. Below is a list of countries…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Don’t panic, says WHO on vaccine safety fears

COVID-19

THOMAS ESCRITT and STEPHANIE NEBEHAY GERMANY, France and Italy announced that they would suspend AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots after several countries reported possible serious side-effects, but the World Health Organization (WHO) said there was no proven link and people should not panic. Still, the decision by the European Union's three biggest countries to put inoculations with the AstraZeneca shot on hold threw the already struggling vaccination campaign in the 27-nation EU into disarray. The Democratic Republic of Congo has announced that it is delaying using AstraZeneca until concerns about safety have been addressed. Denmark and Norway stopped giving the shot last…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Variant-modified vaccines on track

COVID-19

EMILIO PARODI EUROPE's medicines regulator is planning to speed up assessments of any COVID-19 vaccines that are modified to protect against variants of the virus, the head of the agency's COVID-19 task-force told Reuters yesterday. Marco Cavaleri, chair of the vaccine evaluation team at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said there should be no need for lengthy large-scale trials like those needed to evaluate the first COVID-19 vaccines, since tweaks for new variants can be tested on smaller groups. "We are working on updated guidelines, assuming that we cannot ask for large Phase III trials. This will allow us to…