The former president of the Irish College of General Practitioners and a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), Dr Mary Favier, has said that the decision to pause use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was the correct one as the public needed to know that it was “fully safe.”
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast Dr Favier explained that the blood clots being reported in Norway were “exceptionally rare” and as a GP she would not have expected to ever see them in her work lifetime. For five of them to be reported in Norway in such a short period of time was “very unusual” so it merited investigation.
It was better to examine the evidence and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was “highly expert” at such reviews as vaccines were reviewed all the time, she said.
While there was a fear of further vaccine hesitancy as a result of the pause, this was a real issue, and it was very important that it be addressed. It was a case of “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” for NIAC, she said.
The public would prefer to know that the vaccine was safe and while people had been upset that their vaccination had been deferred, they would “line up” to get it next week, added Dr Favier.
“We need to be cautious and we need to be careful.”
