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Third of all Danes would refuse AstraZeneca vaccine as suspension of drug extended

Denmark was one of the first European countries to temporarily suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine

Eleanor Sly
Thursday 25 March 2021 12:53 GMT
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More women than men said they would refuse the jab, according to the survey
More women than men said they would refuse the jab, according to the survey (AFP via Getty Images)

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One in three Danes say that they would refuse to get a Covid-19 vaccine if it was from the AstraZeneca batch, a recent survey reported.

This comes as Denmark was among the first European countries to temporarily suspend the use of the AstraZeneca inoculation, following fears that it could cause blood clotting.

In Denmark, there were a small number of reported cases of rare brain blood clots which individuals experienced, having had the vaccine.

Several local media outlets, including TV 2 and Politiken reported news of the results of the survey which was conducted by Megafon.

In total, 1053 people were asked with results showing that 33 per cent of Danes would decline to get a shot of AstraZeneca’s vaccine if it were offered to them.

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However, only 7 per cent would decline to be vaccinated regardless of which Covid-19 jab they were offered. It also appeared that more women than men would say no.

Several countries, including France and Germany, have now resumed using the vaccine, having paused the use of the AstraZeneca shot.

This news comes after an investigation by the European Union’s drug watchdog said last week that it remains convinced the benefits of the jab outweigh the risks.

In Denmark, use of the shot is currently suspended and on Thursday, that suspension was extended for another three weeks pending further investigations into a potential link between the vaccine and rare cases of blood clots.

Before the suspension was put into place, around 150,000 people had already received AstraZeneca’s shot in Denmark.

The Danish Medicines Agency has in total recorded twelve cases of blood clots, following inoculation with the vaccine.

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