“At this point it is premature to speak. That vaccine has not yet started in the territory of the European Union, we are receiving the first doses this week. The adverse effects are described, but in the risk-benefit balance we continue to know that the vaccine is our best weapon to combat this disease”, explained the minister.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting at Infarmed, in Lisbon, which brought together experts, members of the Government and the President of the Republic to assess the country's epidemiological situation, Marta Temido reiterated her “confidence in vaccines and in what is the role of authorities ”to successfully tackle the pandemic.

"[There may be] confidence in the regulatory authorities, be they European or other authorities, to continue to identify possible adverse reactions, to explain with transparency, and to proceed with what our vaccination plans are," she continued.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (US food and drug regulator) said in a joint statement that they were investigating blood clots detected in six women in the days after taking them the vaccine (single-dose) from this pharmaceutical company, in combination with reduced platelet counts.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet on Wednesday to discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an investigation. More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine have already been administered in the United States.

The first 30 thousand doses of the vaccine of this pharmaceutical arrive in Portugal this week, and the country is expected to receive, still during the second quarter of this year, 1.25 million doses, of the total of 4.5 million doses that the country should have available throughout 2021.

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TPN/Lusa