WHO calls for calm, stresses there is no evidence that AstraZeneca vaccine causes thrombosis

Barcelona / MadridCatalonia has preventively removed 2,000 doses of the AstraZereneca batch which has caused panic in Europe. According to Health Department sources, 37,000 doses of this batch -which was only commercialised in the EU- have been administered. Health Secretary Josep Maria Argimon said that it would be necessary to analyse the cases very carefully, although it all points at the thrombosis being a "coincidence in time" rather than a consquence of vaccination.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday called for calm in the face of the investigation opened in Denmark over some cases of thrombosis among people who had been vaccinated with AstraZeneca. The WHO spokeswoman, Margaret Harris, recalled that today there is no evidence that there is a causal relationship between the vaccine and thrombosis, which is precisely what is being investigated, and stressed that the countries that have decided to suspend the administration of this vaccine have done so "only as a precaution". In addition to Denmark, which gave the alert, Norway, Iceland and Bulgaria have stopped vaccination with this brand, while Italy and Austria have withdrawn at least two different batches.

In fact, the WHO also recalls that the suspicions are focused on a specific batch of AstraZeneca vaccines that had been marketed in the European Union. The vaccine team of the world organization has also opened an investigation into the matter. "Covid-19 vaccination does not reduce deaths from multiple other causes. Thromboembolic events are common in the population, so it's not clear whether this is something that was bound to happen anyway or whether there was a link (to the vaccine)," Harris insisted, according to Efe.

In the meantime, however, the alert for the investigation opened in Denmark has given rise to the first reaction within the Spanish state. Despite the fact that early in the morning, in an interview on RNE, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, has affirmed that no action had to be taken in Spain because all the doses under suspicion had already been administered, Andalusia has immobilised a total of 1,200 doses linked to the batch of the vaccine administered in Denmark and Norway, which have been linked to coagulation problems, according to EFE.

This was announced on Friday by the regional Minister of Health and Families, Jesus Aguirre, who said that we must always act with "the precautionary principle" until we see what resolution is adopted by the European Medicines Agency. This is an immobilisation that does not affect the rest of the AstraZeneca doses that do not belong to this batch. The form of prevention, therefore, is the same as that of Austria and Italy. The decision was taken, according to Aguirre, despite the fact that "the European Medicines Agency has informed them that there was no problem, that there is no direct relationship with Austria and Denmark with this batch and the increase in coagulation disorders in these people, which have led to the death of some". Later on, Asturias and Castilla y León have followed suit.

In any case, the Andalusian Minister explained that "statistically, in people aged 35 to 45 years, there is a certain volume of incidence of thrombosis per 100,000 inhabitants, regardless of the vaccine".

Vaccinating the over-55s?

For the secretary of Public Health, Josep Maria Argimon, it is an "incongruence" that the Spanish Agency of the Medicament decides not to stop the vaccination with AstraZeneca after the last alerts but, on the other hand, the Ministry of Health postpones the decision on whether this vaccine can be administered also to the over-55s. In an interview with Radio 4, he argued that the principle of prudence is used to decide whether or not to stop vaccination as other countries have done after having detected serious cases of thrombosis in people who had received it, but not to maintain the age limitation, and reiterated that there is a need for a debate of evidence and that now, he said, the evidence they have is that this vaccine is effective in people between 55 and 65 years. He called it too "purist" to maintain the current age limit.

As for the latest controversy over the AstraZeneca drug, he argued that it will be necessary to determine whether the relationship between the administration of the vaccine and thrombosis is only coincidence in time or if there is a cause-effect, and that, for now, the first indications of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) indicate that "it seems more a coincidence in time", but said it will have to look "very carefully".

AstraZeneca will continue to be administered in Spain. "It is a safe vaccine," defended the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, in an interview with RNE, and insisted that Spain follows the recommendations of the EMA. In fact, the last batch that has arrived is being administered normally and no specific monitoring is done, as the minister admitted.

On the age limit of this vaccine, Argimon has denied that the Govern was considering ignoring the Spanish government's rule, but has defended that progress is being made: transplant and dialysis patients, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus, have been vaccinated. The Secretary of Public Health is confident that the pace of vaccination can accelerate from April, when, he said, "many more doses" are expected to arrive and a "more massive" phase can be entered.

"I would go out to dinner"

He has also defended that he would be more permissive when it comes to relaxing restrictions on bars and restaurants and that he would allow them, for example, to open in the evenings. "I would go to dinner with my bubble of coexistence, but I do not set the rules," he said, although he has defended this measure.

Argimon has refused to say whether he has been offered a post to lead the Catalan Department of Health. However, he has come forward to defend its current head, Alba Vergès. He said she has been a good councillor and that she has not shied away from responsibilities, something that cannot be said of everyone: "She has never hidden, she has always been at the forefront".