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By Gwladys Fouche and Terje Solsvik
OSLO, March 26 (Reuters) - Norway will delay a decision on
whether to resume the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19
vaccine until April 15, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health
(FHI) said on Friday.
Authorities on March 11 suspended the rollout of the vaccine
after a small number of younger inoculated people were
hospitalised for a combination of blood clots, bleeding and a
low count of platelets, some of whom later died.
"We still need more information and more knowledge to reach
a conclusion," Sara Viksmoen Watle, senior physician at FHI,
told Reuters.
"Now we have more of an explanation for why the patients got
these symptoms ... But we still do not know if it is caused by
the vaccine. And if it is caused by the vaccine, why?"
Norway is one of over a dozen European countries to have
suspended the rollout of the vaccine, although most have since
resumed its use on the advice of the European Medicines Agency
(EMA).
The shot remains on hold in Denmark, however, while other
Nordic countries are just using it for older age groups.
The EMA has said the shot's benefits outweigh the possible
risks. The World Health Organization has also backed it.
AstraZeneca has said a review of safety data from more than
17 million people inoculated in Britain and the European Union
showed no evidence the vaccine raised the risk of blood clots.
SYMPTOMS
Norway has reported five cases in which healthy recipients
of the vaccine were admitted to hospital with a combination of
blood clots, bleedings and low platelets, three of whom have
died.
Local health authorities think the individuals developed
antibodies in an immune response, which stimulated blood
platelets that in turn created blood clots, and later, lowered
platelet counts.
The question is what caused this.
"If it is the vaccine, which part? Is it the virus vector,
the spike protein, a combination, or neither?," asked Viksmoen
Watle. "And if it is, are there certain groups in the population
with an increased risk of such a disease?"
Authorities want to ensure a thorough process so Norwegians
keep their trust in the vaccination programme.
During the pause, Norway will continue its own
investigations, await a new evaluation by EMA, and search for
any more patient cases at home or abroad.
Despite a recent rise in cases, Norway has had some of
Europe's lowest rates of infections in the pandemic.
That, coupled with the delays in AstraZeneca deliveries,
means "the vaccine tempo is not really slowed down that much in
the short-term by having this pause," said Viksmoen Watle.
(Editing by Mark Potter)
