The Slovak Ministry of Health announced today, Tuesday 11.05.2021, that the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against coronavirus is suspended for those people who were expecting to receive the first dose.
The government has stated that it will continue to use the vaccine for those who have already taken the first dose and are waiting for the second. He added that he is considering various alternatives for how the immunization campaign will proceed.
The decision came after Slovakia's state drug agency said last week that the death of a 47-year-old woman could be linked to the vaccine.
AstraZeneca finally in Canada but for different reasons
The first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been discontinued in the Canadian province of Alberta, but this is due to a lack of the drug, according to a local government official. According to this source, Tom McMillan, the local government does not know at this time when it will receive the next shipments of this vaccine, but it is receiving "large quantities of mRNA vaccines", ie the preparations made by Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech.
Last week, Alberta announced the first death from thromboembolism of a man who had been vaccinated with AstraZeneca. A total of three deaths have been reported in Canada. Asked if Alberta was suspending the vaccine because of concerns about its side effects, McMillan said the decision was based on supply problems.
To date, approximately 255.000 first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered in this province. The remaining 8.400 doses will be used for the second vaccinations.
This week, local authorities also expect to receive more than 236.000 doses of mRNA technology vaccines.