Lithuania will continue vaccinating with the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus without restrictions, the vaccinators will be informed about what signs to watch for, says Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys.
"It is important to emphasize that the conclusion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) did not identify any additional risk for men, only a very small additional risk was identified for women under the age of 60. Therefore, the safety of the vaccine remains unchanged for all men and women over 60 years of age. Therefore, vaccination with "Vaxzevria" or the more familiar name "AstraZeneca vaccine" will continue," said A. Dulkys at the press conference on Wednesday evening.
According to him, people will continue to be able to choose which vaccine they can receive, and everyone who agrees to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine will be informed about the symptoms to watch for 3-16 days after the vaccination.
The minister also emphasized that despite the non-unified position of the European Union (EU) states regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine, Lithuania will not change its position and he promises to inform his colleagues about this at the meeting of EU health ministers on Wednesday.
He emphasized that "different practices cause some confusion and make some communication noise".
"Let's not forget that the general message of the European Medicines Agency is that the overall benefit outweighs all the risks and that the most important thing is that patients and doctors are informed (...). We just let you choose the vaccine with all the full information," he said.
"I am going to inform you that Lithuania will not take any exceptional actions, because the information provided to us is certainly not such that the general line should be changed, especially during a pandemic, when morbidity is increasing," the minister added.
The head of the State Drug Control Service, Gytis Andrulionis, says that the information leaflets will contain additional information about the extremely rare side effect of the vaccine - blood clots. According to EVA, they can occur within 14 days after vaccination.
"Those cases are considered to be very rare - the European Medicines Agency estimated the number from the European database to be around 86 cases out of 25 million. vaccinations and decisions to limit vaccination AstraZeneca vaccine was not available, no contraindications were identified. "The decision was made to add to the vaccine 'documentation' that those risks exist," he said.
G. Andrulionis also emphasized that the mentioned side effects "are not fixed" in Lithuania.
Marius Strioga, oncoimmunologist of the National Cancer Institute, doctor of biomedical sciences, claimed at the press conference that no cases of blood clots, which would be associated with vaccination, have been identified either in the Baltic States or in Poland.
According to him, after vaccinating 25 million people across the EU people, 86 cases of clots have been identified, 18 deaths have been recorded, and scientists have already offered effective diagnostics for these risk factors and it can be controlled.
"Discrediting the vaccine, refusing it at this stage of the pandemic would be the most stupid thing we could do, because there is still a shortage of vaccines," said the expert.
According to M. Strioga, fever, headache and other similar adverse effects are possible for the first two to three days after the vaccination and "should not be emphasized", extremely rare complications in the 3-16 days after the vaccination could cause concern.
"If, from the 3rd day, you feel that the headache persists, impaired vision, certain neurological changes - or numbness of the limbs, or balance, headaches, you should not wait. It would be enough that there is a worsening headache with any neurological symptoms - you should go to a medical facility," the expert asserted.
According to M. Strioga, another symptom that should be referred to a doctor is the formation of bruises on the surface of the skin, which can also be associated with a decreased number of platelets.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Wednesday that abnormal blood clots should be flagged as a "very rare" side effect of AstraZeneca's pandemic coronavirus vaccine, noting that the benefits of the vaccines continue to outweigh potential risks.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the EVA also did not introduce new restrictions on the use of the vaccine for persons aged 18 and over.
At the time, Estonia suspended vaccination of people under 60 with AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday.
In mid-March, Lithuania briefly stopped vaccination, then also while waiting for the EVA's clarification on the safety of the vaccine. In order to promote confidence in this manufacturer's vaccine, the country's leaders and other politicians have been vaccinated with it.
Author Ignas Jačauskas
