Astra Zeneca suspended

Lost Seasider said:
On this matter, the vaccine targets should still be met and the relaxation of lockdown was built around those so unless supply gets further restricted (EU and Pfizer) we should be okay.
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Lost Seasider - have you been reading MD in Private Eye on Covid ?
 
ElBurroSinNombre said:
That's interesting. Increased risk of thrombosis is linked to the contraceptive pill, I wonder if there is a link here (i.e. AZ + pill = amplified risk of thrombosis). Or it could be that the thrombosis is from an unconnected source (like the pill).
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ElBurroSinNombre said:
That's interesting. Increased risk of thrombosis is linked to the contraceptive pill, I wonder if there is a link here (i.e. AZ + pill = amplified risk of thrombosis). Or it could be that the thrombosis is from an unconnected source (like the pill).
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Of course the gender imbalance could be explained by the vaccine strategy in Germany.....to give the AZ to health workers who might be proportionally higher female
 
ElBurroSinNombre said:
I don't know if this has been posted but on the today programme this morning blame was laid at an Indian plant that is producing 1 billion doses of the AZ vaccine mainly for poorer countries. We had managed to procure 10 million of these for the UK (for delivery in the next few weeks) but there are production difficulties at the plant. According to the report we expect to receive 5 million of the jabs on time instead of 10 million.
The report also stated that none of our AZ supply is produced in the EU so they cannot interfere with supply of AZ. However Pfizer is produced in Belgium and they could embargo that but I was under the impression that this jab was used a lot less in the UK than AZ. I am really amazed at how badly the EU and European governments are handling this crisis, they have managed to undermine confidence in AZ in their countries and this will translate directly into deaths and longer, more damaging lockdowns. They are attempting to turn a contract dispute with a supplier into a political confrontation, it could be that AZ are trying to placate them by diverting some supply to the EU.
A third vaccine will come on stream after Easter (Novax?). We are doing well here but there are bound to be some bumps in the road. It is a fantastic effort to get all at risk groups vaccinated in the space of 3-4 months. The effect is reflected every day in the figures, this has been a great success for this government and I am glad that the UK seems to be taking a rational approach to vaccination. I had mine yesterday (AZ).
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Looks like there maybe other issues with the Indian supplies

India has suspended the export of millions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to prioritise the “huge needs” of its own country, blunting Britain’s inoculation drive.

Under-50s will have to wait longer for their coronavirus jab after the NHS warned on Wednesday night of a four-week supply drought. Vaccine centres have been told to stop making appointments so scheduled second doses can be prioritised next month.

A shipment of five million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), has been delayed by almost a month after the Indian government paused foreign exports.
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Looks like there maybe other issues with the Indian supplies

India has suspended the export of millions of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to prioritise the “huge needs” of its own country, blunting Britain’s inoculation drive.

Under-50s will have to wait longer for their coronavirus jab after the NHS warned on Wednesday night of a four-week supply drought. Vaccine centres have been told to stop making appointments so scheduled second doses can be prioritised next month.

A shipment of five million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), has been delayed by almost a month after the Indian government paused foreign exports.
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Yes I was watching the news earlier and there was an interview with someone who said much the same. Supplies being held back so they can prioritise their own citizens first.
 
Delfino said:
I did read today a suggestion that in Norway (where they had a serious reaction) they have been giving the AZ vaccine to health workers and that they are more likely to be pre-menopausal females and on birth control (which has a clot risk). I know we have vaccined lots under the age of 50 but, if Blackpool Vic is anything to go by, they have been using Pfizer on their health workers, so maybe the UK AZ dosages have majored on the over 50s so far.

Maybe not the scenario above but I wonder if there is a slightly elevated risk in an age/gender/health/medicine group combination that we have not seen in the UK as we have had a different rollout profile. That said, it sounds like the likelihood is still very low and much lower than the risk of the virus, and delaying is likely to lead to more problems than it solves.
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From the EMA press conference today


A journalist from the BBC asks if there is any suggestion specific groups might be at greater risk of a thrombotic event linked to vaccination.
Dr Sabine Straus says to date there is a "predominance in some groups, notably women and younger women". But it is "still too premature" to say this for certain.
Another journalist from ITV asks why have there been more reports of rare blood clots in the EU than the UK?
The EMA said there have been 18 cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and another seven cases of another rare type of clotting.
There have been five CVST cases in the UK to date.
Dr Straus says: "We know the AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK was given predominantly to older patients... therefore, if blood clotting disorders are more common in younger women, for example, then it would suggest that you would get more cases in Europe than in the UK."
 
Somewhat tangential but interesting nonetheless so I'll post it here rather than start a new thread: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2021/03/21/eus-hopeless-response-variants-puts-britain-risk/

Europe's "hopeless" response to Covid-19 has meant Britain risks the South African strain "flooding in the back door" when travel resumes, making it impossible for vaccines to curb the spread of the virus, a leading member of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine team has said.

The Oxford University's regius professor of medicine and Government life sciences champion said a major failure in Europe was the lack of genome sequencing to tell which variants are spreading where.

He said the continent had "no idea what's going on". "They're hopeless. Completely hopeless. It's really not going well in Europe."
 
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