What Canadians need to know about AstraZeneca’s withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine

May 9, 2024 Vaseline stjohnson 0

AstraZeneca has initiated a global recall of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a “surplus of updated vaccines available” and has requested that the European authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine be withdrawn. While most countries stopped using the shot in 2021, this move on Tuesday makes that cessation official.

Does the recall mean anything for Canadians who received the vaccine? Here’s what you need to know.

AstraZeneca in Canada

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was first approved in Canada on February 26, 2021, a month after the European Medicines Agency’s approval in January 2021. However, within weeks, concerns grew about the safety of the vaccine, when dozens of countries suspended its administration. use after unusual but rare blood clots were detected in a small number of immunized people.

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization called for a pause on injections of the AstraZeneca shot to anyone under 55 on Monday, March 29, 2021, a day before the country was set to receive 1.5 million doses of the vaccine. US vaccine.

At that time, about 307,000 doses of AstraZeneca had been administered. As of June 11, 2021, one case of capillary leak syndrome, a rare blood clot, has been reported following vaccination with the AstraZeneca or COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine in Canada.

On May 11, 2021, Ontario and Alberta suspended the use of AstraZeneca as a first dose. Ontario said it was due to increased thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome – blood clots that can block blood flow and cause organ damage – and a lower than normal number of platelets in the blood, which is dangerous because Platelets help the body form clots. – linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. The change was also made because Canada had the luxury of relying on two other vaccines for its mass vaccination campaign.

In July 2021, Health Canada updated the labeling for the AstraZeneca and COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccines to add capillary leak syndrome, a rare and serious condition in which small blood vessels begin to leak fluid, as a possible side effect. The agency also included a warning for patients with a history of the syndrome not to receive those vaccines.

On December 19, 2023, AstraZeneca’s authorization under the Food and Drug Regulations was canceled at the request of the manufacturer.

How many Canadians have received the AstraZeneca vaccines?

As of February 25, Canada has administered 105,605,632 COVID-19 vaccines. Of those, 2,811,963 or 2.66 percent were AstraZeneca.

How many Canadians experienced negative side effects from AstraZeneca?

As of January 5, 58,712 vaccine adverse events have been reported in Canada. Of these, 3,318 were non-serious complications from AstraZeneca, the most common being headache, fatigue and fever. There were 122 serious complications from AstraZeneca, including cardiac arrest, heart failure, myocarditis, pulmonary embolism, Bell’s palsy, and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). Most adverse symptoms from COVID-19 vaccines began between five minutes and 113 days after vaccination.

Legal challenges and payments for AstraZeneca and other vaccines

AstraZeneca is being sued by different parties. A British man, Jamie Scott, is suing AstraZeneca for what he claims is harm caused by the vaccine in April 2021. Another British woman, Kam Miller, is suing after her husband, Neil Miller, 50 , suffered fatal blood clotting after receiving the vaccine. jab in March 2021. Miller told the BBC that she was not against vaccination, but she argues that the compensation she received after her death should be increased.

Canada has a Vaccine Injury Support Program, created to help people who have suffered a serious and permanent injury as a result of receiving a vaccine authorized by Health Canada, administered in Canada on or after December 8, 2020. The program is established to ensure no-fault compensation for those affected by vaccine injuries. Health columnist André Picard, writing about the idea in 2019, noted that “vaccination is the cornerstone of public health and compensating for the rare cases in which vaccines cause harm is fair and equitable.”

The program began accepting claims on June 1, 2021, and as of December 2023, had awarded $11,236,314 to claimants. Vaccine side effects and injuries reported to the database are self-reported, with no confirmation that the injuries were caused by the vaccines.

What are the COVID-19 vaccines currently available to Canadians?

Several COVID-19 vaccines are authorized and available for use in Canada. These include messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, which are preferred, and a protein subunit vaccine. The XBB. 1.5 vaccines are now the recommended products. There are currently three vaccines approved for use by Health Canada:

  • Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty XBB (also known as Pfizer) – mRNA vaccine
  • Moderna Spikevax XBB (also known as Moderna) – mRNA vaccine
  • Novavax XBB COVID-19 Vaccine (also known as Novavax): Protein Subunit Vaccine

How does the risk of blood clots after a COVID-19 infection compare to that of the AstraZeneca vaccine?

A study by researchers in Britain found that people infected with COVID-19 are at least nine times more likely to develop life-threatening blood diseases compared to those who have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

The study, led by a team at the University of Oxford, involved analyzing medical data from 29.1 million people in England who received a vaccine dose between December 1, 2020 and April 24, 2021. The scientists also They examined the medical records of 1.8 million people who tested positive for COVID-19 during that period.

Dr. Seema Marwaha, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Toronto, says one in five patients hospitalized with COVID-19 actually develops blood clots.

“I have cared for several patients who have suffered COVID-related strokes and pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs),” Dr. Marwaha said. None of these patients had been vaccinated.

“So the risk of getting a serious clot from COVID is significant.”

Are Canadians who received the AstraZeneca vaccine at risk?

Evidence indicates that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks of the disease.

Dr. Michelle Sholzberg, chief of the division of hematology-oncology at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, said clots due to AstraZeneca tended to develop between four and 30 days after vaccination.

If you were symptom-free after 30 days, “you are most likely symptom-free,” he added.

Since no Canadians have received the AstraZeneca vaccine since its cancellation in December 2023, it is unlikely that anyone will develop new serious side effects now.

What are the symptoms associated with blood clots?

First, it’s important to note that vaccine-related blood clots are extremely rare.

The range of symptoms includes:

  • A severe headache that does not go away;
  • Neurological problems such as blurred vision, slurred speech, and seizures;
  • Shortness of breath, chest pain, severe abdominal pain, and severe back pain;
  • Severe swelling, pain, color changes, or coldness in an arm or leg;
  • Multiple small bruises, red or purple spots, or blood blisters under the skin.