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Health officials from the UN and the European Union will meet this week on the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after several more countries suspended its use, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said
Agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists that WHO’s Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety has been reviewing available data on the vaccine and will meet with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Tuesday.

Germany, France Italy and Spain have become the latest countries to temporarily halt use of the shot, following reports of blood clots in people who received the vaccine from two batches produced in Europe.

“This does not necessarily mean these events are linked to vaccination, but it’s routine practice to investigate them, and it shows that the surveillance system works and that effective controls are in place”, Tedros said.
Dr. Mariângela Simão, a WHO Assistant Secretary-General, said the agency is working very closely with the EMA, and with national regulatory authorities in Europe and other regions, in assessing the adverse effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine and all other vaccines.

WHO has not received reports about “thrombo-embolic events” in other parts of the world, she added.
Tedros stressed that “the greatest threat” most countries face now is lack of access to vaccines, saying he receives calls from leaders worldwide “almost every day” asking when their nations will receive doses through the COVAX initiative.

Source: UNNews

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