Africa CDC says member states should continue roll-out of AstraZeneca vaccine
The Africa CDC said that on March 16, Africa CDC called for a special session of the African Taskforce for Coronavirus (AFTCOR), which include experts from across Africa and the world, to review the AstraZeneca situation.
CAPE TOWN, March 19 (ANA) – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Africa CDC on Friday called on member states to continue roll-out the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of their vaccination campaigns.
It said the call was made based on evidence and thorough regulatory review processes.
The Africa CDC said that on March 16, it called for a special session of the African Taskforce for Coronavirus (AFTCOR), which included experts from across Africa and the world, to review the AstraZeneca situation.
The Africa CDC said that from the evidence available and discussed during the AFTCOR special session, Africa CDC concluded that the benefits accruable from the AstraZeneca Covid-19, continue to outweigh its risks.
On February 15, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine for both emergency use and distribution via the Covax facility.
Covax is the global initiative aimed at equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines led by Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and other organisations.
On March 10, the European Medicines Agency announced that four European countries suspended the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine following reports of blood clots and bleeding disorders from Austria.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suspended its Covid-19 vaccination campaign on March 16, pending investigations into whether the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe for use.
However, Health Minister Eteni Longondo on Monday said the country could resume the planned vaccination drive, provided the jab was found to be safe.
Eleven countries paused their AstraZeneca vaccination campaigns entirely regardless of batch, while three countries indicated that they would continue to use the vaccine, said the Africa CDC.
In a statement, the vaccine manufacturer said that to date, there has been no causal link established between the administration of the vaccine and the events reported.
AstraZeneca highlighted that during production of the vaccine, more than 60 quality tests were conducted by AstraZeneca and over 20 independent testing laboratories, said the manufacturer in a statement.
Africa CDC said it would continue to monitor the adverse events following immunisation with all the Covid-19 vaccines and provide evidence-based recommendations as the situation evolves.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Devereaux Morkel
