Nearly 20 Countries Worldwide Suspend AZ Vaccine

'Africa, a "Vaccine Blind Spot," Also Withdraws Purchase Plans'

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Nearly 20 countries worldwide have suspended AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine administration. As controversies over blood clots occurring in younger populations continue, countries are imposing age restrictions. The anxiety that arose in Europe has spread to North America, Asia, Oceania, and even Africa.

On the 8th (local time), Portugal temporarily suspended AZ vaccine administration for those under 60. At a press conference that day, Gra?a Freitas, the head of the health authority, stated, "The goal of vaccination is to save lives and prevent severe illness. This can be achieved with other vaccines as well."

After the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced the day before that there is a link between the AZ vaccine and blood clot occurrences, major countries including Portugal have successively restricted the vaccination age. The Philippines and Australia also announced on the same day a suspension of vaccination for those under 60 and a recommendation to stop vaccination for those under 50, respectively.

The number of countries suspending AZ vaccine administration has thus approached 20. By continent, Europe leads with 13 countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Spain, North Macedonia, Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. Asia has two countries, South Korea and the Philippines; North America (Canada) and Oceania (Australia) each have one country.

Globally, there is a clear trend of avoiding the AZ vaccine, even leading to revisions of vaccination plans. Even countries struggling with vaccine supply are refusing the AZ vaccine. In Europe, where vaccine shortages persist, Sweden and Finland have suspended vaccination for all age groups.

Africa, considered a "vaccine blind spot," urgently needs vaccines due to the spread of variant viruses originating from South Africa, but on this day, it withdrew its AZ vaccine purchase plans. The AZ vaccine constitutes the majority of vaccines that African countries receive through the international vaccine supply organization 'COVAX Facility,' led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and others.

The African Union (AU) health agency announced on this day, "We have changed our vaccine purchase plans to Johnson & Johnson (J&J) products." John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), explained, "The change was not due to the possible association of blood clots with the AZ vaccine. It was to avoid overlap with the COVAX program's purchase plans," but this still dealt another blow to AZ.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.