By: Thomas I. Likness
EBC News Service

(Eagle News) — Canadians should not worry about the safety of the AstraZeneca even though more than a dozen countries in Europe have quit using it, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

“Health Canada and our experts and scientists have spent an awful lot of time making sure that every vaccine approved in Canada is both safe and effective,” said Trudeau. “Therefore the best vaccine for you to take is the very first one that is offered to you.”

The batch in question has been delivered to 17 countries and included one million vaccines. Several countries halted its rollout over fears of blood clots and other side effects.

Trudeau says his government is closely monitoring what is going on with the specific batch from Europe.

He adds none of those doses are being distributed in Canada.

The country has ordered 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine plus two million additional shots of the same formula made by the Serum Institute of India.

Ottawa authorized its use at the end of February — adding it to its approved list alongside Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots — but has only just started to distribute it.
(Eagle News Service)