Taiwan kicked off its coronavirus inoculation drive Monday with two top officials getting AstraZeneca shots in a bid to boost public confidence in a vaccine that has had a troubled rollout. Premier Su Tseng-chang and health minister Chen Shih-chung sat for jabs at a Taipei hospital after local authorities cleared the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant’s vaccine for use. … Read more
Trust in AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine in many European countries has plunged following controversy around the jab in recent weeks, according to a new survey unveiled Monday by British pollsters YouGov. A majority of people in the biggest European Union member states, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, now see the inoculation as unsafe, the recent … Read more
by Véronique Dupont Pascal Soriot has led the charge to make AstraZeneca one of the first pharmaceutical companies in the world to produce a vaccine against COVID-19. The development of the vaccine with scientists at Oxford University — and their decision to make it available at cost — has made the Anglo-Swedish firm a household … Read more
by Robin Millard, with AFP bureaus World Health Organization experts on Wednesday recommended countries continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine, but said they were looking into the jab’s safety after a slew of countries suspended its use over health fears. The WHO, Europe’s medicines regulator and AstraZeneca itself have repeatedly said the vaccine was safe … Read more
Several countries have suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine over fears that it may have caused recipients to develop blood clots. The vaccine was developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in Britain, where more than 11 million doses have been administered apparently without any major problems. In recent news, the Dutch Government halted the … Read more
by Nina Larson, with AFP bureaus WHO safety experts prepared to meet Tuesday over the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine whose rollout has been halted in several European countries over blood clot fears, imperilling the pandemic fight as infection rates surge. The three largest EU nations — Germany, Italy and France — joined others in suspending the shot Monday, … Read more
The director of the Oxford Vaccine Group on Monday said there was no link between the jab it developed with AstraZeneca and blood clotting, after several countries suspended its use. Andrew Pollard said there was “very reassuring evidence that there is no increase in a blood clot phenomenon here in the UK, where most of … Read more
The UK government on Thursday defended the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after Denmark suspended the jab’s use, and insisted it would continue with its own rollout. “We’ve been clear that it’s both safe and effective… and when people are asked to come forward and take it, they should do so in confidence,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s … Read more
by Robin Millard with AFP Bureaus The World Health Organization on Monday approved the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, in a boost for poorer countries where millions of doses are set to be distributed. While inoculation drives have been gaining pace, with nearly 172 million vaccine doses given worldwide, most of the jabs have so … Read more