Faizel Patel – 18/03/2021
Wits University director of vaccines and infectious diseases Professor Shabir Mahdi says recent analysis in the UK, Finland and a World Health Organisation (WHO) review indicates that there is no association between the AstraZeneca vaccine and widely reported blood clots apparently caused by the jab.
At least 13 EU member states including Germany, France, Italy have suspended use of the shot pending the outcome of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA)probe.
The EMA is investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine in the EU.
It’s focus and primary concern is on cases of blood clots in the head, a rare condition that’s difficult to treat called cerebral venous thrombosis.
Speaking to Radio Islam, Mahdi says many countries were hasty in suspending the vaccine.
“Unfortunately some countries jumped the gun in terms of them being too hasty with their decision to stop vaccination without adequately interrogating the data as to whether the situation was due to the vaccine or not.”
Meanwhile Professor Mahdi says the behaviour of the virus and the behaviour people may determine the emergence and magnitude of the third wave in South Africa.
“The one issue is around mass gatherings and certainly if we have large mass gatherings during the Easter vacation period as an example, then that resurgence would occur earlier than the middle of May or beginning of June. The other part which is completely unpredictable is what the virus does. if the virus start mutating even further, then we might end up with a variant which is different from the current variant which is even more resistant to the immune responses that have been induced by infection from the initial virus as well as this variant.”
South Africa has currently recorded 1 532,497 COVID-19 infections while 51,634 people have also died.
Over 1,459,000 people have so far recuperated, putting our recovery rate at 95.2%
Listen to the interview with Professor Shabir Mahdi
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