rare blood clots - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

Congo to lose 1.3-million shots

HEALTH authorities are reallocating around 75% of Democratic Republic of Congo's 1.7 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses to other African countries to make sure they're used before they expire, a UNICEF representative has said. Congo received the doses from the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility on March 2, but delayed the rollout after several European countries suspended the use of the AstraZeneca shot in response to reports of rare blood clots. The country began its vaccination campaign on April 19, but had administered doses to just 1,265 people out of its population of over 85 million as of Saturday, according to the…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

SA to resume J&J vaccination study

COVID-19

SOUTH African researchers hope to next week resume a study using Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine to immunise healthcare workers, one of the scientists leading the programme said yesterday. South Africa suspended the study last week after U.S. federal health agencies recommended pausing the use of J&J's vaccine because of rare cases of blood clots. "We do hope to start again next week," South African Medical Research Council President Glenda Gray, co-principal investigator of the Sisonke study, said during a webinar on Wednesday. So far around 290,000 health workers have been given J&J's vaccine in the study, which is further…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

More than 300 cases of rare blood clot events worldwide

COVID-19

THE European Union's drug regulator said on Tuesday there had been more than 300 cases worldwide of rare blood clotting incidents combined with low platelet counts after use of COVID-19 vaccines. There were 287 occurrences with the AstraZeneca vaccine, eight with Johnson & Johnson's shot, 25 for Pfizer and five for Moderna, said Peter Arlett, Head of Data Analytics at the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

FACTBOX- Some countries limit AstraZeneca vaccine use, US pauses J&J shot

COVID-19

SOME countries are restricting the 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. Denmark became the first country to stop using the vaccine altogether, as it said results of investigations showed "real and serious side-effects". Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine has also been hit by concerns over blood clots, with European regulators reviewing such cases and U.S. federal health agencies recommending pausing its use for a few days. J&J noted no clear causal relationship had been established between the clots and its vaccine.…