The rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine was paused earlier this week but it looks like it won’t be a long break. Health Minister Hugo de Jonge has announced that vaccinations will be resumed next week.
This decision has been made after the European Medical Agency (EMA) did research into the safety of the coronavirus vaccine. It found that the chance of serious side effects, including those related to blood clots, was very small.
Recalled for the vaccine
Those who had their appointments cancelled this week will be the first to get vaccinated. GPs will start using the vaccine again on Monday, and the GGD will resume vaccinations on Wednesday, according to RTL Nieuws.
The Netherlands has ordered a total of 11.7 million doses of the vaccine. Each person who receives the AstraZeneca vaccine requires two doses to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
Why was it paused?
De Jonge made the decision to pause the vaccine earlier this week based on the advice of the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board CBG due to the concerns over its link to blood clotting. Many other European countries also made the decision to halt the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. As of next week, some other countries that chose to pause the use of the vaccine will also resume its rollout.
The director of the EMA, Emer Cooke, told RTL Nieuws “There is no evidence of a link between the seven rare complications and the vaccine, but there may be. It needs further investigation.”
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Feature Image: AstraZeneca/Supplied