Canada to Recommend Halt in Use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine in People Under 55
March 29 2021 - 3:57PM
Dow Jones News
By Paul Vieira and Kim Mackrael
OTTAWA -- A Canadian panel of scientists will recommend Monday a
halt on administering the AstraZeneca PLC Covid-19 vaccine to
people under the age of 55 in light of new research from Europe on
potentially serious side effects for younger women, according to an
official.
Canada's provinces, which are responsible for carrying out the
Covid-19 vaccination rollout program, learned late Sunday night of
the fresh guidance from federal authorities, which will advise that
the vaccine only be administered to people age 55 and older. Canada
had previously said the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe for people of
all ages. The country's National Advisory Committee on Immunization
will issue the new guidance later on Monday, the official said.
At least two Canadian provinces, Manitoba and Prince Edward
Island, said they were immediately halting use of AstraZeneca on
younger people.
"This is a pause while we wait for more information to better
understand what we are seeing in Europe," said Dr. Joss Reimer,
head of Manitoba's vaccine task force. "We have to respond to what
we know, when we know it, in this vaccine campaign."
A representative for AstraZeneca wasn't immediately available
for comment on Canada's recommendation.
Canada authorized use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, created in
partnership with the University of Oxford, on Feb. 26. Health
Canada -- which has oversight on drugs -- has repeatedly said the
benefits of the vaccine outweighed any risks and stuck to that
position while European countries paused AstraZeneca's use because
of concerns about the risk of blood clotting in older people. The
European Union's health agency later determined the shot was safe
and effective and didn't increase the risk of blood clots.
Dr. Supriya Sharma, senior medical adviser at the country's
health department, said last week that reports of blood clots after
vaccination were very rare, but their unusual nature warranted
further investigation. She said Health Canada would review evidence
about the blood clots as it becomes available and would take action
if new safety issues are confirmed.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com and Kim Mackrael at
kim.mackrael@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 29, 2021 15:42 ET (19:42 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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