At a meeting that ran until late Wednesday, EU health ministers promised to continue discussions on vaccination planning and process, according to a joint statement from the European Commission and Portugal, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides had called on the bloc’s governments to forge a coordinated approach, saying it “will be key for us to speak with one voice.” The bloc needs “an approach which does not confuse citizens and that does not fuel vaccine hesitancy,” she said.
But in the statement on the meeting, the EU said the ministers shared “their different interpretations” of a safety report by the bloc’s drugs regulator, indicating what may be deep divisions on the way forward.
AstraZeneca Clot Worries Complicate Bid to Vaccinate the World
The EU’s immunization program has been bogged down by poor planning, supply delays and increasingly a lack of solidarity. Greek Health Minister Vasilis Kikilias expressed concern about the pluralism that confuses citizens on such an important issue, according to a ministry statement.
In response to concerns about the AstraZeneca shot, Italy followed Germany and France by recommending it only for people over 60. Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government urged other EU members to implement the same policy, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
Italy’s move to limit the vaccine’s use came just hours after the European Medicines Agency announced finding a “strong association” with blood clots. The regulator didn’t issue any guidelines about usage, leaving the implementation up to member states.
The EU has been hit by a fresh wave of the disease, which has caused more than 600,000 deaths in the region. Italy and France have gone back into lockdown. Germany is debating stricter curbs, while Chancellor Angela Merkel considers taking control from state leaders.
With agressive variants spreading, the region can ill afford further problems in its vaccine rollout. The bloc has administered doses for just 9.3% of its population — about a third of Britain’s pace, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker.
The U.K. conducted a similar safety review and is now advising that people under 30 be offered an alternative vaccine if one is available, the country’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said Wednesday.
The warnings dealt another blow to the vaccine Astra developed with the University of Oxford and continued to cloud its global rollout. The drugmaker said it’s studying the individual cases to understand the “epidemiology and possible mechanisms that could explain these extremely rare events.” It’s also working with regulators on their request for new labels on its shots, AstraZeneca said in a statement.
Concerns about the vaccine center on an unusual type of blood clot in the brain called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. There were also some cases of clots in the abdomen and in the arteries, which occurred together with low levels of blood platelets.
Is the AstraZeneca Vaccine Safe or Not?: Sam Fazeli
Despite the risks, EU and British regulators on Wednesday insisted that the product’s benefits outweigh its risks, that the clot occurrences are rare and that the shot should remain a vital tool in the pandemic fight.
Supply Surge
The EU expects a big increase in vaccine deliveries in the coming months
Source: European Commission
“AstraZeneca is a good vaccine,” Giovanni Rezza, an adviser to the Italian health ministry, said during a press conference in Rome. “It can be given to anyone, but we are recommending a preferential use for people above 60.”
Italian officials said the change of policy wouldn’t hamper the country’s rollout as supplies increase and doses of other shots get redistributed. Spain is undertaking similar restrictions, according to the Associated Press.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been dogged by controversy in the EU. Before the health concerns, the drugmaker got embroiled in a battle with the bloc after a production issue led to delivery delays.
Unity among member states has become a broader issue.
“We must not forget that individual decisions affect everybody,” Portuguese Health Minister Marta Temido said, as she appealed for a coordinated position. “This is a technical decision. It is not a political decision. We must continue to follow the best scientific information provided.”