ETHIOPIA. Addis Ababa: The African Union through the Centre For Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said that it considers the benefits of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to outweighs the risks and recommended that vaccinations continue across the continent.
The announcement came on March 18, a day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) backed the vaccine and as more than a dozen European countries have suspended the use of it amid concerns over the risk of blood clots.
“The benefits outweigh the risks”, Director of the Africa CDC, John Nkengasong in a news conference said that countries should “move forward” with the vaccination.
The Head of the Continent’s disease control body said that reactions would be monitored and reported for future assessments on the vaccine.
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Some African Countries suspend the use of the AstraZeneca
On March 13, the Democratic Republic of Congo delayed the rollout of the shot, citing its reason as due to the suspension of the use of the shots by European countries.
Many African states are expected to receive AstraZeneca shots from the COVAX Facility, a global vaccine allocation plan co-led by the World Health Organisation and partners including the Gavi vaccines alliance.
The COVAX Facility will be delivering vaccines for free to some low and lower-middle-income countries.
Elsewhere in European, Medicines Agency is investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine and had found no link.
AstraZeneca said on March 14 that data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the UK and European Union had shown no evidence of blood clots.