Synopsis
On April 15, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said the AstraZeneca vaccine should be dropped entirely but the government sought further advice from its commission. It also sought advice on the J&J jabs, which have not been used in Norway, despite European Medicines Agency approval.
Agencies
In explaining its recommendations, the commission said eight Norwegian cases of severe clotting had been linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine
Norway should exclude the COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson from its inoculation programme due to a risk of rare but harmful side-effects, a government-appointed commission said on Monday.
Those who volunteer to take either vaccines should however be allowed to do so, a majority of the commission said, as it emphasised the importance of dispelling any vaccine hesitancy.
Norway should exclude J&J, AstraZeneca from COVID vaccination scheme, says commission
reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Norway should exclude the COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson in its inoculation program due to a risk of rare but harmful side-effects, a government-appointed commission said on Monday. Those who would volunteer to take either of the two vaccines should however be allowed to do so, the commission added. Authorities on March 11 suspended the AstraZeneca rollout after a small number of younger inoculated people were hospitalised for a combination of blood clots, bleeding and a low count of platelets, some of whom later died. On April 15, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said the AstraZeneca vaccine should be dropped entirely but the government instead sought further advice, including on the jabs made by J&J which the country has yet to adopt.
1951
Washington, May 10
The World Health Organization (WHO) is set to restart an international clinical trial of three existing drugs that can save the lives of people hospitalised with Covid-19. This time the trial is aimed at dampening inflammation, an approach that has already shown promise, Nature reported.
The clinical trial, named Solidarity, was first announced on March 18 by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The latest trial will test three drugs that dampen inflammation Infliximab, Imatinib and Artesunate.
All three drugs were carefully chosen on the basis of the promise they showed in smaller clinical trials and widespread availability, John-Arne Rottingen, scientific director of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, was quoted as saying.
vimarsana © 2020. All Rights Reserved.