Venezuela will not Authorise AztraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Due to ‘Effects on Patients’, VP Says.
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela will not authorise AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Monday, citing unspecified “effects on patients.”
Rodriguez’ comments came after several European countries paused inoculations using the vaccine following reports of blood coagulation in recipients. Other countries, including Canada and Australia, have continued to recommend its use.
Venezuela has so far used Russia’s Sputnik V and China’s Sinopharm in its vaccination programme.
The government had been in talks with political opposition – recognised as the South American nation’s legitimate interlocutors by many Western countries – over a possible deal to participate in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Covax initiative, which provides vaccines to poor countries.
While no deal has been reached so far, AstraZeneca supplies one of the main vaccines used in the Covax initiative.
