Confidence In Astrazeneca’s Vaccine Dips Across Europe

A poll conducted by YouGov says Confidence in the safety of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has taken a hit in European countries after reports of rare blood clots made the news.

The Poll shows that people’s confidence in the vaccine dipped especially in Spain, Germany, France, and Italy and found that even by late February, Europeans were wary of the AstraZeneca jab.

The poll surveyed 8,000 people across seven European countries between March 12 and 18 and found that people in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy where people now see the vaccine as unsafe.

Reports of blood clots from vaccines had severely damaged the public perception surrounding the vaccine causing 13 European countries to halt the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.

On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency conducted an investigation into the claims and said the vaccine was safe and effective, and not directly linked to blood clots.

Even then, the European regulator did not completely rule out any potential link to blood clots known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis or CVST. However, since then, many countries have resumed its use.

However, Poll data says 55 per cent Germans deem the vaccine is unsafe. In France, 61 per cent said that the vaccine remains unsafe, while in Italy and Spain 36 per cent and 38 per cent respectively deem the jab unsafe.

It is only in Britain that the blood clot concern had no effect on the vaccine’s rep, where 77 per cent people believe the shot is safe.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca clarifies its vaccine which was developed in collaboration with Oxford University has no pork-derived ingredients.