Countries to resume AstraZeneca jabs after EU agency deems it 'safe'

Several countries said Thursday they would resume AstraZeneca vaccinations after Europe's medical regulator said the jab is "safe and effective" and not associated with a higher blood clot risk after days of commotion around the shot.

The closely-watched announcement from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) came after the WHO and Britain's health watchdog both said the vaccine was safe, adding that it was far riskier to not get the shot as several countries face a worrying rise in coronavirus cases.

France on Thursday became the latest nation to toughen Covid restrictions, announcing a month-long limited lockdown for Paris and several other regions to try and stave off a third wave of infections that has overwhelmed hospitals.

It also said it would resume AstraZeneca vaccinations, along with Italy, Spain, Slovenia and Bulgaria, after the EMA announcement.

In Pics | Countries that have suspended AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

"The committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion: this is a safe and effective vaccine," EMA chief Emer Cooke said Thursday after a probe by the body's safety committee.

"The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots," she added.

However, the agency "cannot rule out definitively" a link to a rare clotting disorder.

The UK health regulator on Thursday also said there were no links between blood clots and the AstraZeneca jab, or the Pfizer vaccine.

"There is no evidence that blood clots in veins is occurring more than would be expected in the absence of vaccination, for either vaccine," said June Raine, chief executive of the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

And the World Health Organization (WHO) repeated that it was better to take the AstraZeneca vaccine than not, after saying it was looking into available data on the shot.

The furore around the jab has marred the global vaccine drive aimed at ending a pandemic that has killed more than 2.6 million people, and comes as several countries report jumps in new cases.

After recording its highest daily caseload in nearly four months on Wednesday, France said it would impose a limited lockdown in the Paris region from Friday at midnight.

The measures fall short of a full-blown lockdown, but will see non-essential shops closed and outdoor movement restricted in the affected regions, while schools are to stay open.

"We are adopting a third way, a way that should allow braking (of the epidemic) without a locking (people) up," Prime Minister Jean Castex said.

Read | AstraZeneca vaccine is safe; getting mine tomorrow: UK PM Boris Johnson

Bulgaria and Ukraine also readied for tougher restrictions to stem rising cases, while the WHO issued a grim update on ballooning infections in Central Europe and the Balkans.

So far, more than 400 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered globally, mostly in wealthier nations that have secured contracts with drug makers.

AstraZeneca's shot, among the cheapest available and easier to store and transport than some of its rivals, has been billed as the vaccine of choice for poorer nations.

It is currently a vital part of Covax, which was set up to procure Covid-19 vaccines and ensure their equitable distribution around the world.

Countries ranging from France to Venezuela and Indonesia paused the rollout of the jab after several reports emerged of blood clots among people who had received the vaccine.

The head of WHO Africa said Thursday she hoped the controversy surrounding the British-Swedish jab would not deter people from getting the vaccine on the continent, where more than 16 million vaccine doses, mostly AstraZeneca, have been distributed under the Covax scheme.

"A lot of countries have doubts" about AstraZeneca, Matshidiso Moeti told reporters.

Read | Blood clots in AstraZeneca jab very rare: WHO official

"But we hope that will not create doubts around anti-Covid vaccines in general."

And in Britain, which has not halted the jab, officials insisted that an expected vaccine shortfall at the end of the month would not scupper plans to lift virus restrictions as the government has promised.

Italy, the first European country to become engulfed by the pandemic, held a national day of mourning Thursday, with a ceremony in Bergamo, the northern city that became known as "Italy's Wuhan".

Italy chose March 18 for the memorial to coincide with the day in 2020 when the army had to step in to carry away scores of coffins from Bergamo's overwhelmed crematorium.

Images of coffin-laden camouflaged trucks crossing the city at night quickly became one of the symbols of the pandemic and still haunt the country today.