MADRID – The regional government in Madrid said 63% of people who had appointments to receive their vaccination, showed reluctance for AstraZeneca and did not turn up.
On April 9, the daily infections reached 10,875 for the first time since February. Meanwhile, some regional governments reported an increase in the number of rejections for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Reluctance for AstraZeneca
As reported by El Pais, the Madrid deputy health chief, Antonio Zapatero, claimed on Friday that of the 29,000 appointments scheduled for Thursday in the Zendal Hospital and the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, just a third – 10,800 people – turned up. Whereas the previous week missed appointments only accounted for 3% of the total.)
Andalucia officials said they have also seen a decline of around 20% for this jab. Castilla-La Mancha reported a fall of 15.5%. However, other areas say there has not been any significant change reported by Anadolu Agency.
Largest amount of vaccines
Despite the reluctance, Wednesday and Thursday last week saw the biggest number of vaccines administered so far in each of those days in Spain. Just over 450,000 and 420,000 vaccines were given respectively on these days. However, 80% of them were reported to be Pfizer.
The benefits outweigh the risks
Last week the EMA confirmed “very rare” blood clots could be among the possible side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. They pointed out, however, that the risk is very small and the benefits outweigh the risks. Therefore, vaccination should continue. The UK´s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), have come to the same decision and are recommending under-30s are given a different vaccine.
According to The Scientist, the EMA puts the risk of blood clots as one person in every 100,000 vaccinated. However, the British authorities (MHRA) estimate one in 250,000 and vary this rate according to age.
Report of findings
Based on the above, the risk of dying from Covid-19 is much higher than that of suffering a rare blood clot following vaccination. The EMA put together a report on its findings. It provides advice for people who have received the vaccine if they develop symptoms detailed in the report of this combination of blood clots and low blood platelets.
