European nations resume AstraZeneca vaccinations

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered by nurse Lily Harrington at St. Thomas’ Hospital on Friday in London. Johnson was treated at St. Thomas’ when he was ill last year with covid-19.
(AP/Frank Augstein)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered by nurse Lily Harrington at St. Thomas’ Hospital on Friday in London. Johnson was treated at St. Thomas’ when he was ill last year with covid-19. (AP/Frank Augstein)

WARSAW, Poland -- Countries across Europe resumed shots with the AstraZeneca vaccine Friday, as leaders sought to reassure their populations it is safe after brief suspensions that cast doubt on a vaccine that is critical to ending the coronavirus pandemic.

The British and French prime ministers rolled up their sleeves, as did a handful of other senior politicians across the continent where inoculation drives have repeatedly stumbled and several countries are now reimposing lockdowns as infections rise in many places.

Britain is a notable exception: The outbreak there has receded, and the country has been widely praised for its vaccination campaign, though this week it announced that it, too, would be hit by supply shortages. The U.K. also never stopped using AstraZeneca. European Union countries, by contrast, have struggled to quickly roll out vaccines, and the pause of the vaccine by many this week only added to those troubles.

The suspensions came after reports of blood clots in some recipients of the vaccine, even though international health agencies urged governments to press ahead with the shot, saying the benefits outweighed the risks. On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency said the vaccine doesn't increase the overall incidence of blood clots, though it could not rule out a link to a small number of rare clots.

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The move paved the way for a slew of European countries including Italy, France and Germany to begin using the vaccine again.

"It's clear that the revocation of the suspension is for us a great relief because we have to strongly accelerate the vaccination campaign," said Dr. Giovanni Rezza, the head of prevention at the Italian Health Ministry.

Health experts have expressed concern that even though the suspensions were brief, they could still damage confidence in the vaccine at a time when many people are already hesitant to take a shot that was developed so quickly. While many EU countries have struggled with such reluctance, it's even more of a worry in developing nations that may not have any other choice of vaccine. AstraZeneca, which is cheaper and easier to store than many rival products, is the linchpin in vaccination drives in many poorer countries.

With little other choice, most developing countries that had the AstraZeneca on hand pushed ahead with it.

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But while governments in Africa and elsewhere expressed their determination to continue using the shot, not everyone is convinced.

"Why should I allow it to be used on me? Are we not human beings like those in Europe?" Peter Odongo, a resident of a town in northern Uganda, told the Daily Monitor newspaper this week.

The East African country has received 864,000 AstraZeneca doses via Covax so far but had administered fewer than 3,000 by Tuesday. Authorities blamed logistical challenges in transporting the vaccines deep into the country, but newspaper reports cite resistance to the vaccine.

Even before the latest debate over AstraZeneca, vaccine skepticism had been a concern across the world, as many people are hesitant about shots developed in record time. African countries have faced particular hurdles on a continent wary of being a testing ground for the West.

"Unfortunate events" in Europe will "clearly not be helpful for our public confidence, in building public confidence and trust on the use of that particular vaccine and other vaccines for sure," John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters Thursday, as he encouraged African countries to continue their vaccinations.

That came hours before the European Union drug regulator gave the same message to its 27 members.

Even before those messages, several developing nations had said they would stick by the shot.

"We will continue the inoculations," said Lia Tadesse, health minister of Ethiopia, which received 2.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine last week.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwWBFHyI_EM]

Authorities in India -- home to the vaccine manufacturer that will likely make a large portion of the doses destined for the developing world -- said Wednesday that they would continue AstraZeneca inoculations with "full vigor" as infections jumped in several parts of the country. After initially saying it would delay use of the vaccine, Thailand said Tuesday that it would carry on with AstraZeneca, and the prime minister even got his shot in public.

Africa, with a population of 1.3 billion, hopes to vaccinate 60% of its people by the end of 2022. That target almost certainly will not be met without widespread use of AstraZeneca. And experts have warned that until vaccinations rates are high the world over, the virus remains a threat everywhere.

Information for this article was contributed by Rodney Muhumuza, David Biller, Ignatius Ssuuna, Ashok Sharma, Mohamed Sheikh Nor, Lori Hinnant and Maria Cheng of The Associated Press.

Medical personnel tend to a patient in the covid unit at San Filippo Neri Hospital on Friday in Rome. Writing on the outfit at left reads in Italian “Best wishes to my dad.”
(AP/Alessandra Tarantino)
Medical personnel tend to a patient in the covid unit at San Filippo Neri Hospital on Friday in Rome. Writing on the outfit at left reads in Italian “Best wishes to my dad.” (AP/Alessandra Tarantino)
Giovanni Rezza speaks during a news conference in Rome, Friday, March 19, 2021. Italy’s pharmaceutical agency has formally lifted its temporary ban on AstraZeneca vaccinations after the European Medicines Agency ruled the shots were safe and effective. The head of prevention at the Health Ministry, Dr. Giovanni Rezza, said Italy only reluctantly halted the campaign out of an abundance of caution. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
Giovanni Rezza speaks during a news conference in Rome, Friday, March 19, 2021. Italy’s pharmaceutical agency has formally lifted its temporary ban on AstraZeneca vaccinations after the European Medicines Agency ruled the shots were safe and effective. The head of prevention at the Health Ministry, Dr. Giovanni Rezza, said Italy only reluctantly halted the campaign out of an abundance of caution. (Mauro Scrobogna/LaPresse via AP)
Winfried Kretschmann, Prime Minister of Baden-Wurttemberg, is vaccinated against the Corona virus with the AstraZeneca vaccine by Christian Menzel, Senior Physician at the Klinikum Stuttgart in the vaccination centre operated by the Klinikum Stuttgart in the Liederhalle Culture and Congress Centre in Stuttgart, Germany, Friday, March 19, 2021. On the left is wife Gerlinde Kretschmann. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
Winfried Kretschmann, Prime Minister of Baden-Wurttemberg, is vaccinated against the Corona virus with the AstraZeneca vaccine by Christian Menzel, Senior Physician at the Klinikum Stuttgart in the vaccination centre operated by the Klinikum Stuttgart in the Liederhalle Culture and Congress Centre in Stuttgart, Germany, Friday, March 19, 2021. On the left is wife Gerlinde Kretschmann. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)
Medical staff members administer the AstraZeneca vaccine at La Nuvola (The Cloud) convention center that was temporarily turned into a COVID-19 vaccination hub, in Rome, Friday, March 19, 2021. Italy's pharmaceutical agency has formally lifted its temporary ban on AstraZeneca vaccinations after the European Medicines Agency ruled the shots were safe and effective. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Medical staff members administer the AstraZeneca vaccine at La Nuvola (The Cloud) convention center that was temporarily turned into a COVID-19 vaccination hub, in Rome, Friday, March 19, 2021. Italy's pharmaceutical agency has formally lifted its temporary ban on AstraZeneca vaccinations after the European Medicines Agency ruled the shots were safe and effective. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Slovenia's President Borut Pahor is administered AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, March 26, 2021. Slovenia has reversed its suspension of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines after the European Medicines Agency declared the shots are safe. In an apparent bid to dispel public concerns about the vaccine, Slovenia's top officials received the AstraZeneca shots.(AP Photo)
Slovenia's President Borut Pahor is administered AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, March 26, 2021. Slovenia has reversed its suspension of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines after the European Medicines Agency declared the shots are safe. In an apparent bid to dispel public concerns about the vaccine, Slovenia's top officials received the AstraZeneca shots.(AP Photo)
Prime Minister Jean Castex, 55, is vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Hopital díInstruction des Armees Begin, in Saint-Mande, on the outskirts of Paris, Friday, March 19, 2021. Jean Castex announced Thursday that the French would be able to get inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine starting Friday afternoon — and that he himself will be getting a shot "to show we can have complete confidence." Castex is making for himself an exception to the age rule, moving to the front of the line of those awaiting vaccinations, currently reserved for people 75 and older or with serious health concerns. (Thomas Coex, Pool via AP)
Prime Minister Jean Castex, 55, is vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Hopital díInstruction des Armees Begin, in Saint-Mande, on the outskirts of Paris, Friday, March 19, 2021. Jean Castex announced Thursday that the French would be able to get inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine starting Friday afternoon — and that he himself will be getting a shot "to show we can have complete confidence." Castex is making for himself an exception to the age rule, moving to the front of the line of those awaiting vaccinations, currently reserved for people 75 and older or with serious health concerns. (Thomas Coex, Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine administered by nurse and Clinical Pod Lead, Lily Harrington at St.Thomas' Hospital in London, Friday, March 19, 2021. Johnson is one of several politicians across Europe, including French Prime Minister Jean Castex, getting a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine administered by nurse and Clinical Pod Lead, Lily Harrington at St.Thomas' Hospital in London, Friday, March 19, 2021. Johnson is one of several politicians across Europe, including French Prime Minister Jean Castex, getting a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
A Red Cross volunteer prepares the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in a vaccination center of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, southwestern France, Friday, March19, 2021. Countries across Europe resumed vaccinations with the AstraZeneca shot on Friday, as leaders sought to reassure their populations it is safe following brief suspensions that cast doubt on a vaccine that is critical to ending the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
A Red Cross volunteer prepares the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in a vaccination center of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, southwestern France, Friday, March19, 2021. Countries across Europe resumed vaccinations with the AstraZeneca shot on Friday, as leaders sought to reassure their populations it is safe following brief suspensions that cast doubt on a vaccine that is critical to ending the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered by nurse and Clinical Pod Lead, Lily Harrington at St.Thomas' Hospital in London, Friday, March 19, 2021. Johnson is one of several politicians across Europe, including French Prime Minister Jean Castex, getting a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered by nurse and Clinical Pod Lead, Lily Harrington at St.Thomas' Hospital in London, Friday, March 19, 2021. Johnson is one of several politicians across Europe, including French Prime Minister Jean Castex, getting a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
People line up to get their AstraZeneca vaccine shot outside La Nuvola (The Cloud) convention center that was temporarily turned into a COVID-19 vaccination hub, in Rome, Friday, March 19, 2021. Italy's pharmaceutical agency has formally lifted its temporary ban on AstraZeneca vaccinations after the European Medicines Agency ruled the shots were safe and effective. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
People line up to get their AstraZeneca vaccine shot outside La Nuvola (The Cloud) convention center that was temporarily turned into a COVID-19 vaccination hub, in Rome, Friday, March 19, 2021. Italy's pharmaceutical agency has formally lifted its temporary ban on AstraZeneca vaccinations after the European Medicines Agency ruled the shots were safe and effective. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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