We reported in one of our earlier editorials that the AstraZeneca vaccine was having issues in South Africa with combating their variant of the COVID-19.
But this apparently is not it as the AZ vaccine is reportedly causing blood-clotting in persons in Europe. Thus far, several European countries have stopped sharing vaccines of the AZ vaccine. Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Iceland have suspended the use of the vaccine, while Austria stopped using a batch of shots last week.
The AZ vaccine has been found to be 76 percent effective against the original coronavirus after the first dose. When a second dose is given 12 weeks or more after the first dose, the efficacy rises to 82 percent.
I heard a Caribbean minister for health telling reporters that out of the 20m people that have received the AZ shot, only 37 have experienced blood clotting. I would say that is 37 too much.
The AZ was one of the first vaccines to come out on the market. It was created by a team comprising of the AZ Company, a well-known pharmaceuticals company, and the Oxford University scientists in the United Kingdom.
AZ was the second largest pharmaceuticals company in the world in, 2019 £96.910bn in market cap behind the French firm Sanofi with a market cap of €103.962bn.
The AZ vaccine is the vaccine of gift to the Caribbean by India. Thousands of doses have already been donated with several countries already administering the vaccine. I guess you can’t beat a freebie. But how come the only vaccine people are raising hell about is the AZ vaccine? I’m sure that there is shared technology across the space and if AZ has issues, so should Pfizer and Novartis and the other drug companies. The sinister side of me is saying that this is more of a media hit job against a British company by European foes, but the fact that South Africa came out first and said that the AZ vaccine does not work against their COVID-19 variant lets me set that silly notion aside.
I’m not a doctor. However, I do wish to take another vaccine if available and if possible. Too often Caribbean countries and third world countries at large are given the scraps and refuse that the developed world won’t use themselves. And goofy politicians worldwide, lie and jive to get past their lack of insight and embarrassment for being out to lunch and not listening to people.