The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is assuring that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines distributed through the COVAX facility will not be from the same batches under investigation in Europe.
PAHO’s Incident Manager Dr Sylvain Aldighieri says the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is assessing the data provided by the European Medical Association (EMA) in connection with two batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine that were manufactured and distributed in Europe.
He said the two batches being reviewed in Europe will not be distributed to COVAX in the Americas since the doses allocated to the COVAX scheme are produced in India and the Republic of Korea.
Several countries suspended the use of the vaccine pending the outcome of a World Health Organization (WHO) investigation into claims that the shot is linked to blood clots.
AstraZeneca has maintained that the vaccine is safe, noting that of the over 17 million people who have already received the jab across Europe, only 37 reports of clots have been made.
Earlier today, Germany, France, Italy and Spain said they would resume using AstraZeneca after the EU drugs regulator said there was a “clear scientific conclusion” that the jab was “safe and effective”.
EMA head Emer Cooke said its investigation had concluded that the AstraZeneca vaccine was “not associated” with a potential risk of blood clots.
In the Caribbean region, Dr Aldighieri said there have been no reports of blood clots.
He said there are no indications of any vaccination issues in the region noting that the benefits of the vaccine exceed the risks and WHO recommends continued use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
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