The Health and Safety Executive of Ireland has cancelled the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the remainder of the week by closing the clinics currently distributing them. The move comes amidst concerns over the blood clot risks that have been raised in Europe with rare but severe cases cropping up.
Concerns over blood clots still remain
Over 60’s who have had special arrangements to get the vaccine will still be able to get the jab however the rollout has been paused amidst concerns over the risk that the vaccine could cause a risk of very rare but severe blood clots.
The risk of the blood clot has been viewed by some as considerable when compared to the associated risks of serious illness from Covid in the under-60s group.
The HSE Executive in Ireland has been asked to explain to ministers the impact the pause will have on current vaccine rollout plans in the Republic of Ireland. Senior officials were called into an emergency meeting to evaluate the effect of the AstraZeneca restrictions.
The Irish vaccine rollout was set to be accelerated this month but the announcement of the AstraZeneca restrictions and news that Johnson and Johnson were pausing the European rollout of its vaccine has added a few roadblocks.
Some solutions include spacing out the doses of the vaccines further but this would need to be in conjunction with advice from Nac, but no such advice has been given yet. The delay has been questioned by various sources within the Republic of Ireland who have questioned how sensible it is to pause and delay the vaccine rollout when the country could be at risk of another outbreak.
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