Clear away the cloud of EU vaccine doubt
BOLSTERED by a vaccination programme that is the envy of much of the world, Guernsey should exit lockdown to the relative normality of phase three next week.
With the exception of outliers such as Gibraltar, and the Seychelles, the Bailiwick’s rapid, efficient, administration of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines stands comparison with any of its peers.
If there is a cloud in this otherwise clear sky it is the doubts currently being spread across Europe about the AstraZeneca jab.
Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands have now suspended the vaccine’s use, following similar decisions in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria and Iceland. It is badged as a ‘purely precautionary measure’ because of concerns about blood clots.
As yet, there seems little statistical justification for the suspensions. There have been 37 reports of blood clots among 17 million people who have received its vaccine across Britain and Europe.
Given the number of people involved – and especially their older age groups – the number of clots is not high or unusual.
EU politicians and medical officers admit that there is little cause for alarm. Regulators such as the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization insist there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots.
Instead, they have urged people offered the jab to get it as quickly as possible.
Ireland’s deputy chief medical officer said it was important to halt the vaccinations as a precaution but admitted the country might be overreacting. ‘It may be nothing,’ he said on Sunday. ‘I sincerely hope that in a week’s time we are accused of being overcautious.’
The danger is that this over-abundance of caution needlessly damages trust in a perfectly safe vaccine and persuades people to wait and go shopping around for the ‘right’ jab. They then place themselves in far greater danger through being infected by the virus and succumbing to Covid-19.
The Bailiwick has an excellent record for taking up the vaccine, which will ultimately speed the islands’ health and economic recovery.
People should trust the experts – including our own Public Health director – and trust the vaccines.