Lithuania is temporarily suspending vaccination with AstraZeneca. “I received a recommendation from the National Medicines Control Agency, which, like other European Union countries, recommends suspending vaccination with AstraZeneca as a precaution until the European Medicines Agency issues final conclusions on the safety of this vaccine,” said Minister of Healthcare Arūnas Dulkys.
“This means that we will take the recommendation into account,” he added.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is calling an emergency meeting on the vaccine on Thursday.
According to the head of the State Drug Control Agency (VVKT), the decision was made after receiving three reports of thromboembolic events.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that countries around the world should continue to vaccinate their inhabitants with the vaccine developed by the British and Swedish companies AstraZeneca in cooperation with the University of Oxford. Several countries stopped using the vaccine because of concerns that the drug could cause a blood clots to form.
“We don’t want people to panic, but for now we recommend continuing vaccinations with AstraZeneca,” WHO chief specialist Soumya Swaminathan told a press conference.
“So far, we have not found a link between these events and the effects of the vaccine,” she added.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Tuesday that “there is no indication” that the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is causing blood clots in people who are vaccinated, although several European countries have suspended the drug due to such allegations.
EVA officials said in a virtual press conference that they remain “firmly convinced” that the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks.
“We strongly believe that the benefits of AstraZeneca outweigh the risks associated with the side effects,” said Emer Cooke, EVA’s chief executive.
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