Cape Verde suspends AstraZeneca vaccine rollout
Thursday March 18 2021
A vial of AstraZeneca's Corona vaccine, which has been used up PHOTO | DANIEL KARMANN | DPA via AFP
Cape Verde has suspended the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine that was scheduled for Friday.
In a statement on Tuesday, Health Minister Arlindo do Rosário said the country has taken the precaution “until doubts raised are fully clarified as far as AstraZeneca vaccines are concerned.”
“On March 19, as agreed upon, we will start the vaccination of the health personnel with Pfizer vaccine.”
Some European countries have also suspended over blood clot claims, but the World Health Organization (WHO) and AstraZeneca have said there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clotting.
Cape Verde received 24,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine on March 12 and two days later received 5,850 doses of the Pfizer jab.
The government said it will vaccinate 70 percent of its population by the end of the year.
The western Africa country has a population of about 508,000.