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The ad hoc national scientific committee for the development of the vaccine strategy against SARS-CoV-2, met on Tuesday and recommended maintaining the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Morocco.
In a document sent to Yabiladi, the committee addressed suspensions surrounding the use of the vaccine developed by the Swedish-British laboratory, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, recalling that a number of European countries have temporarily halted the use of said vaccine over blood clot fears.
«For the moment, 30 cases of thromboembolic diseases have been reported in Europe after the administration of 5,000,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines. In the United Kingdom, 35 cases have been reported for 9,700,000 doses of the vaccine (0.03 per 1,000)», recalls the committee. The latter adds that «these figures are well below the annual incidence of the disease which is 1 case per 1,000 in Europe and North America where more than 200,000 new cases of thromboembolic occur each year in the United States».
The Scientific Committee stressed that 4 thromboembolic cases were recorded in Morocco as of March 15, 2021, by the National Pharmacovigilance Center (CAPM), after the administration of 5,992,783 doses, including 4,628,695 of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
«After an in-depth analysis of the reported cases, thromboembolic disease was not retained in 1 case.In 2 cases, the link between the vaccine and the thromboembolic event has not been established while a case is under investigation».
Recomending the use of AstraZeneca vaccine
Thus, «in accordance with the declarations of the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and national pharmacovigilance data, the scientific committee recommends maintaining vaccination with the Astrazeneca vaccine», reads the same document. «The vaccines used in the vaccination campaign will continue to be the subject of a follow-up of the post-vaccination adverse events, while maintaining the scientific watch», it added.
On Monday, France announced that it was halting the use of AstraZeneca vaccine, as a precautionary measure. Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and several European countries followed suit. Denmark's National Health Agency was the first to announce a similar decision.
On Thursday, the Swedish-British laboratory defended its vaccine, ensuring that «patient safety is [its] top priority». For its part, the WHO has not advised against the use of the vaccine developed by the laboratory, considering that «there is no reason not to use AstraZeneca's anti-Covid vaccine».
Pending its opinion which will be delivered on Thursday, the European Medicines Agency declared on Tuesday that the «benefit / risk balance remains positive» for the AstraZeneca vaccine and that it remains «firmly convinced» of its benefits.
As of March 15, 30 cases of thrombosis had been reported for more than three million people vaccinated in the European Economic Area.
