Norwegian health experts recommend stopping further use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine

The Institute of Public Health in Norway has recommended that the government stop using the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine after a lengthy review of the jab. Oslo suspended its use on March 11.

In a press release on Thursday, the agency said that after considering, in collaboration with external experts, the continued use of the heavily-scrutinized Covid-19 jab, that it would no longer recommend its use. It said more evidence has emerged to suggest there is a link between the jab and very rare cases of potentially fatal blood clots.

“Based on this knowledge, we have arrived at a recommendation that the AstraZeneca vaccine be removed from the coronavirus vaccination program in Norway,” Geir Bukholm, director of infection control at the National Institute of Public Health, said in the statement.

The institute noted that Norway has made great strides in vaccinating its elderly and those most at risk of Covid. Therefore, those who are yet to be vaccinated are younger and less at risk from the virus – but are also potentially more prone to thrombotic events linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. 

Those who have already received their first dose of the Anglo-Swedish jab will get a second shot from another vaccine manufacturer, the body stated.Also on Thursday, Health Minister Bent Hoeie said the government would not be drawn into a decision yet.

"The government believes that we do not have a good enough basis for drawing a final conclusion that the AstraZeneca vaccine should be removed from the Norwegian vaccination program at this point," Hoeie told a news conference.

Should the government act on the recommendation, Norway will become the second nation after Denmark to stop using the AstraZeneca jab as part of their Covid-19 immunization program. Many countries have limited its use given the apparent, but very rare, risk of thrombotic events post-vaccination.

Norway suspended administration of the vaccine in March after five healthcare workers, all aged between 32 and 54, were hospitalized after receiving the vaccine. Three of them died.

Reviews are ongoing into similar occurrences after the administration of the J&J vaccine, which uses similar technology and has been linked to several cases among the 6.8 million doses administered in the US.

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