Thailand received AstraZeneca vaccine to curb Covid-19, has now delayed the roll out owing to the fears of blood clots although there has not been found any evidence.
The prime minister was due to begin the country’s vaccination drive by receiving the jab on Friday which has now been cancelled.
The delay comes after a number of countries, including Denmark and Norway, suspended the use of the vaccine.
Around 5 million Europeans have already received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Of this figure, about 30 cases had reported “thromboembolic events” – or developing blood clots.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday that there was no indication the jab was causing the blood clots, adding that it’s “benefits continue to outweigh its risks”.
AstraZeneca said the drug’s safety has been studied extensively in clinical trials.
Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, an advisor for the country’s Covid-19 vaccine committee, told reporters at a media conference,
“Though the quality of AstraZeneca is good, some countries have asked for a delay. We will delay as well.”
However, Thai public health ministry officials clarified that the batch of AstraZeneca vaccines are different to those distributed in Europe, adding that blood clot problems have not been commonly detected amongst Asians.
The first batch of 117,300 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in Thailand on 24 Feb, together with 200,000 doses of China’s Coronavac vaccine.
More than 30,000 people in Thailand have already received Coronavac since the country kicked off its vaccination program on 28 February. Thailand says it will continue with its Coronavac rollout.
