Spain joins growing list of EU countries to suspend use of AstraZeneca vaccine
Administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be suspended in Spain for two weeks from Tuesday 16th March.
Monday 15th March 2021 | translated by MIKE SMITH
Spain has joined Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, France and Italy in suspending the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after cases of blood clotting were reported in people who had been vaccinated with this type.
From tomorrow Tuesday 16th March, and for the next two weeks, the vaccine will be removed from the vaccination campaign in Spain until such time as the European Medical Agency (EMA) can determine whether or not the drug has been responsible for the reported blood clotting, although the EMA still maintain that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks whilst the number of reported cases is very low in proportion to the number of people vaccinated.
An initial assessment of the reported cases of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST) has shown that the number of cases among vaccinated individuals and those of naturally occurring cases in the general population is not much different, nor were the reported cases related to a particular batch of the vaccine. Therefore, there was no justified cause to suspend administration of specific batches or the vaccine as a whole.
However, over the past weekend, several cases of CVST have been reported in those who have received the AZ jab, one of which was in Spain, and it has been decided that they need to be studied further as they are very rare in the general population.
It is estimated that more than 17 million people have been administered with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK and the European Union. The latest report on the national vaccination campaign, published today, reports that 939,534 people have received the AZ jab across Spain, whilst the figure for the Comunidad Valenciana is 181,300 people.
Information for Patients
Headaches are a common symptom after vaccination against COVID-19. However, if you have received the vaccine in the last 14 days and the headache is severe and persistent, changes significantly when lying down, or is associated with visual disturbances or other persistent neurological symptoms, it is recommended that you consult a doctor.
Information Source
Press Release – Ministerio de Sanidad España
