SPAIN will restart administration of the AstraZeneca or 'Oxford' vaccine from this coming Wednesday (March 24) based upon a European Medicines Agency (EMA) verdict that it is 'safe and effective' and that the 'benefits outweigh the risks'.
Meanwhile, scientists have been studying the thrombosis issue and working out the warning signs and immediate and effective treatments, and who is most likely to experience these side-effects, in a bid to prevent any future issues arising.
A few dozen cases of clotting disorders have been reported across Europe, including several deaths, in a target group which is typically young and with no pre-existing physical health conditions.
The three deaths in Spain include Pilar G., a 43-year-old high-school teacher from Marbella.
Researcher Andreas Greinacher of the Paul Ehlrich Institute in Germany attributes the thrombosis cases to a 'very rare immune response' where the medicine formula produces antibodies in the blood which activate the platelets, causing these to clot.
This explains, he says, why the cases of venous thrombosis – 13 in Germany out of 1.6 million people vaccinated – come accompanied with a low platelet count.
It mirrors a disorder known as 'thrombocytocaemia through heparin', where levels of platelets fall drastically within five to 14 days after being treated with heparin, an injectable anti-clotting agent.
This reaction is almost identical to that seen in a very small number of people – in Spain, all aged under 55 – who have had the AstraZeneca vaccine, and which is treated by injecting high doses of immunoglobulin intravenously.
Even though these findings do not rule out that the thrombosis cases may have had other causes, they give a clear indication as to the signs to look out for, what to test for, and how to treat people whose platelet count hints they may have become affected.
'Normal' side-effects of the vaccine, such as 'influenza-like symptoms' – muscle and joint pain – appearing one or two days after being immunised 'should not cause undue concern', the research report states.
Those for which recipients of the vaccine should seek immediate medical attention include dizziness or feeling faint, headaches, blurred or otherwise altered vision, trouble breathing, or pain in arms or legs that last three or more days.
German health authorities have now updated their set procedures so as to respond effectively to any possible cases.
Also, in the UK, where the vaccine was created – and where it is, in fact, being administered to the over-65s – people who have received it are urged to seek medical attention straight away if they notice unexplained bruising or suffer headaches.
In Spain, the AstraZeneca jab has only been given to the under-55s and, at the time of its cessation, was being administered to teachers in State and private schools and colleges, health and care workers not on the front line – such as physiotherapists – home carers including family who do so as non-professionals, and 'essential' workers such as police, Armed Forces and firefighters.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com