Swedish regions stop corona vaccination with AstraZeneca - “surprising” accumulation of side effects

AstraZeneca's corona vaccine has been temporarily suspended in the Sörmland region of Sweden.

The reason for this was an accumulation of side effects in two clinics.

Update from February 16, 8:25 p.m

.: There are reports that there are significant concerns about the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine

among

the population of Germany.

Hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses are allegedly on the dump, another pharmaceutical manufacturer is meanwhile applying for approval for its vaccine (see link).

Update from February 16, 1:45 p.m.:

After the temporary stop of the administration of the corona vaccine from AstraZeneca to hospital employees in Sörmland, Sweden, the responsible region sees no cause for concern.

Talks were held with the national drug authority and the manufacturer and there was nothing to suggest that something was wrong with the vaccine supplied, the Sörmland region informed the dpa upon request.

The corona vaccinations will therefore be resumed during the week.

Corona vaccine from AstraZeneca: accumulation of minor side effects - Sörmland stops vaccination

First report from February 15:

Katrineholm / Nyköping - Last Thursday, 400 employees of two hospitals in the Swedish province of Sörmland were administered the corona vaccine from the British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca.

The Swedish public broadcaster SVT then reported side effects, especially fever, in 100 people who had been vaccinated.

In the Kullbergska hospital in Katrineholm and in the hospital in Nyköping there is now a shortage of personnel.

The province of Sörmland then stopped vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In Germany, there have already been side effects with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In the district of Minden-Lübbecke in North Rhine-Westphalia, at least 21 employees of the rescue service and the fire brigade were absent due to illness last Friday after their corona vaccination.

According to a report by the

Neue Westfälische

, they mainly complained of fever, chills and pain.

The district said that these side effects were normal.

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Swedish regions stop corona vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

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© Sascha Steinach / imago-images

Temporary pain and tenderness at the injection site, mild to moderate headache, fatigue, chills, fever, malaise and muscle aches are some of the possible side effects of AstraZeneca's corona vaccine, a company spokeswoman told

Image

.

"Currently, the reported reactions are what we would expect based on the findings from our clinical study program," she continued.

The frequency of side effects in the two Swedish hospitals in the province of Sörmland is, however, unusually high.

In the trials in the approval process for the AstraZeneca vaccine, such side effects only occurred in ten percent of the cases - in the two clinics, however, in 25 percent.

"We are stopping the administration until further notice to investigate the whole thing and to prevent staff shortages," Magnus Johansson, the region's medical officer, told SVT.

AstraZeneca corona vaccine: "This is not good" - investigations announced

“No, that's not good,” said Andreas Heddini, medical director of AstraZeneca in Northern Europe, the Swedish public broadcaster.

“There seems to have been a higher proportion of side effects than expected.

Studies have shown that side effects of this kind occur in around ten percent of those vaccinated, ”says Heddini.

He announced that his company would investigate the incident closely.

They are already in close contact with the affected regions.

There is nothing to worry about, however.

"We take everything that has to do with the safety of the vaccine very seriously," Heddini assured SVT.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has already been administered to millions of people around the world without any problems and no serious side effects have been found in clinical studies, he said.

In the Swedish region of Jönköping, too, according to SVT, a vaccination against the coronavirus of just over 500 people resulted in a "surprising" number of side effects after the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Gävleborg region has joined Sörmland and has also decided to temporarily stop using the vaccine.

(ph)

List of rubric lists: © Sascha Steinach / imago-images