Europe’s AstraZeneca vaccine response is both cautious and chaotic

March 18, 2021 ☼ vaccineastrazenecaeurope

Source: The Washington Post - Link

The supply problem has been compounded this week by a number of European governments’ decisions to block the use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine because of safety concerns — not only disrupting the supply of the vaccine but potentially causing long-term public concerns about the drug, even if it is later proven safe, as many experts predict.

Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland and France are among the countries that have suspended the use of the vaccine, which was developed amid much fanfare by researchers at Oxford University and makes up a significant part of the vaccine supply across the continent. Their worry is related to a number of blood-clotting incidents, some fatal, among those who have received the jab.

The prevailing view among scientists is that these incidents are likely to be unrelated to the inoculation — essentially, that correlation does not mean causation.

Europe is going to pay a huge price for its anti-vaxx, anti-science attitudes.