Morocco Intensifies AstraZeneca Vaccine Monitoring Despite Safety Assurances

In a letter addressed on Tuesday to the Director of the Anti-Poison and Pharmacovigilance Center, the Minister of Health, Khalid Ait Taleb, communicates eight key measures to increase the level of vigilance in the monitoring and safety of anti-Covid-19 vaccines.

Among the measures, the strengthening of the interview and the systematic taking of blood pressure before vaccination in people at risk (hypertension, heart disease) and the reminder to patients on anticoagulants not to interrupt their treatment before vaccination. The note from the Minister of Health also requires that the vaccine be administered with caution by a fine syringe and then a firm pressure must be applied to the injection site (without rubbing) for at least two minutes.

Another measure also wants the vaccine to be administered intramuscularly in the deltoid muscle, avoiding the needle touching the small blood vessels.

The Ministry of Health also recommends management of cases of coagulation disorders and thromboembolic events reported in post-Covid-19 vaccination.

"Monitoring, investigation and evaluation of all cases of coagulation disorders and thromboembolic events post-vaccination must continue," the correspondence also notes.

According to the same letter, healthcare professionals must strengthen notifications and remote monitoring of post-vaccination adverse events, report adverse effects observed by the population by reporting them via the "Yakadaliqah" platform and share data on the pharmacovigilance of anti-Covid-19 vaccines with the population on a periodic basis.

On March 17, the Ministry of Health had recommended the continued use of the AstraZeneca anti-Covid-19 vaccine, based on the conclusions of the National Pharmacovigilance Commission, that no link has been established between vaccination and the four cases of thromboembolic adverse effects reported in Morocco.

To date, no deaths have been recorded among the beneficiaries of the AstraZeneca vaccine following complications related to the side effects of the vaccine, the Ministry of Health maintains. And Khalid Ait Taleb assures: "The protection of the health of all our fellow citizens is one of its priorities and no effort will be spared. Any new data concerning the vaccines and their safety of use will be announced through their official channels".