Quote Originally Posted by lisvaneblue View Post
There is no doubt in my mind that suspension of the AZ vaccine by individual EU member states is a political one. The EMA and MHRA confirm that those given the current Covid-19 jabs show no more incidence of blood clots than in the general population.
That's not, by the way, to say they cause blood clots, because there is no evidence that they do, just if you've had a jab you are as unlikely to develop a blood clot as if you hadn't had a jab.
The MHRA and EMA are rigorous in their monitoring of drug side effects and you only have to look on their websites to see just how thorough they are in their medicine appraisals.
It's nice to have the clarity of thought on this such that all doubt is removed.

For my part I don't know enough about Danish politics to understand its domestic and international political motivations is being the first country in the EU to pause use of the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

I certainly don't understand the political rationale of Sweden, which has skin in the Astra Zeneca game and no reported cases of clotting or platelet reducing side effects, deciding it is politically expedient to reduce confidence in the vaccine one of its companies has developed. Nor do I understand what the political drivers for the non-EU countries of Norway and Iceland are in following their lead.

There is certainly a politically dimension of the largest member states of Germany, France, Italy and Spain so publicly been seen to consult and act in concert with each other, though other than to create a pretext for their own inability to vaccinate their populations it is difficult to understand the wider political rationale.

In any event this has been a political crisis from the off. Decisions on when and where to start lockdowns, how to source materials and manage testing, how and when to control borders have all been political decisions. And that is perfectly right and proper as it should be politicians that are held accountable for their actions by their own people.