After a favorable opinion from the European Medicines Agency on Thursday, the High Health Authority updated its recommendations for the administration of this vaccine.
- After an interruption due to possible side effects, vaccination with AstraZeneca will resume
- HAS recommends using this vaccine only for people over 55
The AstraZeneca vaccine is again authorized in France, after a three-day suspension. Only people over the age of 55 will be able to benefit from it, according to the new recommendations from the High Authority for Health, published on Friday March 19. Several cases of thrombosis occurring in people vaccinated in Europe had prompted around fifteen European countries, including France, to discontinue the use of this product, pending an opinion from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) .
What does the European Medicines Agency say?
According to Emer Cooke, executive director of the EMA, the AstraZeneca vaccine “is not linked to an increase in blood clots“. She explained during a press conferenceThursday, March 18, that “the number of cases of thrombosis in vaccinated people is lower than that observed in the general population”. Studies should be launched to deepen knowledge of these side effects, but for the director of the EMA, if the link cannot be definitively excluded between the vaccine and thrombosis, the benefits of these injections outweigh the risks. For the EMA, the vaccine is “safe and effective“. In the United Kingdom and the European Union, seven cases of blood clots and 18 cases of thrombosis have been recorded out of approximately 20 million people vaccinated, according to data available to the body. The majority of these cases concern people under 55 and women.
Decisions awaited concerning those under 55 who have already received an injection
For this reason, the High Authority for Health recommends vaccinating only people over 55 years old, “who make up the vast majority of current priority people“, she specifies. “We have alternatives for the youngest“, underlined Dominique Le Guludec, president of the HAS, during a press conference. The authority should quickly decide on the particular cases: people under 55 who have already received an injection. The HAS “will position itself very soon on the modalities of administration of the second dose”. People who meet the criteria and who have already obtained an appointment will be able to receive their injection: the High Health Authority has affirmed that the “vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine“could”resume without delay“. Tuesday March 16, Prime Minister Jean Castex had promised to be vaccinated as soon as the green light from the EMA. He received this injection on Friday, at the beginning of the afternoon, at theBégin military hospital in Saint-Mandé (94).
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