European countries announce restart of use of AstraZeneca vaccine – UPDATED
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Italy, Latvia and Lithuania have said they will resume using the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, Sky News reports.
Italian Prime Minister Draghi said that the giving of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Italy will resume as of tomorrow.
Latvia and Lithuania will also restart administering vaccinations using AstraZeneca shots on Friday, both countries’ health.ministers said. In a show of trust in the AstraZeneca vaccine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, as well as the parliament speaker and health minister himself, would get the AstraZeneca shot on Monday, the minister said.
Cyprus will resume vaccinations with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, the island’s Health Ministry said.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex will be inoculated on Friday with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, French TV station BFM TV reported.
The western German region of Rhineland-Palatinate is ready to resume administering the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. “Today’s decision is clear,” premier Malu Dreyer told Funke newspapers. “As soon as the government gives the green light, we will also resume vaccinating.”
Spain announced it will resume the use of AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, EL Pais reports.
The EU’s drug watchdog said on Thursday it is still convinced the benefits of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks following an investigation into reports of blood disorders that prompted more than a dozen nations to suspend its use.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
