AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine: What’s the Verdict? Jab Safe or Not?

By now we have all heard that numerous countries especially in Europe had suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. This vaccine was suspended temporarily due to reports of side effects such as blood clots and internal bleeding [1]. Normally nurses and doctors are supposed to report any adverse reactions to vaccines to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Of course with such reports out, this has caused a lot of panics and it is understandable.

Leaders in various African countries, in particular, have been paying close attention to these concerns. The AstraZeneca vaccine is part of the COVAX initiative supported by the WHO whose goal is to make sure that every low-income country has equal access to these vaccines.

As reported by the WHO, these events do not necessarily mean there is a link to the vaccination itself. However, it is wise to investigate these concerns [2]. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) safety committee and the WHO Global Advisory Committee on vaccine safety (GACVS) assessed and reviewed the reports on safety and clinical trial data the whole week [3].

After careful investigation and review, EMA and GACVS concluded on March 18th, 2021 that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and there was no link of the blood clots to the vaccine [3]. And with this conclusion, most of the European countries and others that had rejected this vaccine resumed the AstraZeneca vaccine. It is understandable if people are still not comfortable taking this AstraZeneca vaccine.

However, if this was the only COVID-19 jab available in your country, what then do you do? Most of us in low-income countries especially in African countries do not have the luxury of having options as to what type of COVID-19 vaccine we would prefer. Also, keep in mind that we are all unique and have different reactions to any medication and vaccines. Rather than putting these concerns under a rug, I appreciate the transparency from the EMA and WHO on this matter.

References

1. Dean, G., & Schuster-Bruce, D. (2021). Sweden joins Germany, France, and 15 other countries in suspending AstraZeneca's vaccine over possible side effects. Retrieved 20 March 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-countries-suspend-denmark-thailand-batch-blood-clots-2021-3

2. WHO statement on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safety signals. (2021). Retrieved 20 March 2021, from https://www.who.int/news/item/17-03-2021-who-statement-on-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-safety-signals

3. Statement of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) COVID-19 subcommittee on safety signals related to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. (2021). Retrieved 20 March 2021, from https://www.who.int/news/item/19-03-2021-statement-of-the-who-global-advisory-committee-on-vaccine-safety-(gacvs)-covid-19-subcommittee-on-safety-signals-related-to-the-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine

4. Photo Cred: AstroZeneca Image https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/covid-19-media.html