“Tajikistan will not refuse the AstraZeneca vaccine, we welcome it,” Tajik Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection of the Population, Samariddin Alizoda told reporters in Dushanbe on March 18.
“We have been making preparations, carry out all activities for vaccination events. But we follow everything that happens around this vaccine. We will register all cases of side effects, and all people who received the vaccine will be observed by the Ministry of Health,” he assured.
Alizoda noted that Tajikistan had adopted the national immunization program
In all, Tajikistan is expected to receive 624,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, 'Covishield' manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) by May 2021 through COVAX. This initial allocation will cover the vaccination of about 3% of the Tajik population, primarily the priority groups – health care workers, teachers and people over fifty.
Recall, India delivered to Tajikistan 192,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, known as Covishield in India, in the night of March 8.
The vaccines arrived as part of India's commitment made to the world to use India's vaccine production and delivery capacity to help all of the human fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Till date under its Vaccine Maitri’ initiative India has reportedly sent more than 45.6 million doses of these vaccines to more than 45 countries.
India launched its vaccine drive, the world's largest inoculation effort, in early January. It has vaccinated nearly 30 million people so far – healthcare and frontline workers were given priority in the first phase, the BBC reported on March 9.
Meanwhile, some media reports say Indian drug regulators are expected to review data on one of the two candidate vaccines in its national COVID-19 vaccination drive after reports that some shot recipients had complained of unusual blood-related illnesses.
Recall, several countries, including Denmark, Iceland, Norway, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Thailand and some others have temporarily suspended their use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine after reports that some people developed blood clots, although there is no proof that the shot was responsible. Denmark was the first country to halt its use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on March 11 after reports of blood clots in some people, including one person who developed multiple clots and died 10 days after receiving at least one dose.
Blood clots that form in the arms, legs or elsewhere can sometimes break free and travel to the heart, brain or lungs, causing strokes, heart attacks or a deadly blockage of blood flow.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use in adults in more than 50 countries and has been proven to be safe and effective in research done in Britain, Brazil and South Africa. But there have been concerns raised about how the vaccine data have been released, and some European leaders have questioned the vaccine’s effectiveness.
Most national health authorities underscored that the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine was strictly precautionary.
