An array of European stock markets opened higher on Tuesday morning, despite the ongoing challenges faced by European Union member states in terms of their vaccine rollout campaigns. Following reports of blood clotting, several European nations including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain have suspended their rollout of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The Paul-Ehrlich Institute in Germany reported “a striking accumulation of a special form of very rare cerebral vein thrombosis (sinus vein thrombosis) in connection with a deficiency of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia) and bleeding in temporal proximity to vaccinations with the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca.”
While reports suggest that there have been as little as seven serious cases of blood clotting out of 1.6 million vaccine doses administered in six weeks, multiple European nations have exercised an extremely cautious approach in suspending their rollouts of the vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently evaluating the AstraZeneca vaccine data to determine if the COVID-19 vaccine has any relation to the instances of blood clotting. The results of the study are expected to be revealed soon.
This news comes at a precarious time for the affected European nations, with COVID-19 cases spiking across the continent at an exponential rate. According to the Robert Koch Institute, Germany finds itself on the brink of a third coronavirus wave.
Despite the latest news, AstraZeneca stocks have risen by 1.5% on the London Stock Exchange.
