Vietnam continues the inoculation with AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine though some countries have paused the rollout due to blood clot concerns.

First shot of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine taken in Vietnam's Hanoi on March 8. Photo: Ngoc Tu/Kinh Te Do Thi

The vaccination campaign, which has entered the sixth day, will continue as planned since no blood clot has been reported so far, a health expert said at a governmental meeting on March 12.

Nobody out of nearly 1,600 vaccinated people had that symptom and health workers are keeping a close eye on the health developments, according to Prof. Dang Duc Anh, head of the National Institute of Hygiene And Epidemiology (NIHE).

Six vaccinated people showed anaphylaxis – grade II and in stable conditions after some treatment regimens by the Ministry of Health while some others suffered side effects, said the health professional.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan said the ministry has reviewed results recorded from AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine shots by local health experts and scientists, having found no link between vaccine adverse events and Astrazeneca doses.

As planned by the ministry, 13 cities and provinces [the newly-affected areas by Covid-19] are carrying out the immunization with more than 117,000 doses, the first batch of estimated 30 million doses committed by AstraZeneca plc.

Given short research and clinical trial, the ministry issued strict rules for the inoculation of Covid-19 vaccine.

In the last few days, some 10 countries including Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Thailand have suspended the use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine while the European Union’s medicines regulator investigates whether the shot could be linked to a number of reports on blood clots.

Meanwhile, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), the European Medicines Agency (EMA)’s committee responsible for the evaluation of safety issues for human medicines, said on March 11 “There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine.” It stated that vaccine’s benefits currently still outweigh risks.

ABC NEWS cited Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases expert from the Australian National University (ANU), as saying “You can’t ignore these events, but I think it’s an overreaction.”

AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, which is developed by British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca plc, has been licensed for emergency use in nearly 50 countries including the EU, Latin America, India, and the UK.