Berlin: Researchers at Greifswald Teaching Hospital in northern Germany said on Friday they had discovered the cause of unusual blood clot problems found in some recipients of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, public broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) reported.
The investigation showed how the vaccine caused blood clots in the brains of several patients. The discovery means that targeted treatment can be developed to prevent problems.
The success was the result of cooperation between Greifswald Hospital, the state health regulator of the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) and doctors in Austria – a nurse there died of a thrombosis in her brain after being vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
The researchers pointed out that treatment will only be possible in patients with blood clots, rather than as a preventive treatment.
The information was transmitted to hospitals across Europe.
AstraZeneca is back on track in Europe
Germany, along with several other EU member states, suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday following reports of unusual blood clots.
On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said there were no proven links between the vaccine and blood clots, based on the information they had. They also stated that the benefits of the jab outweighed any possible risks.
Germany was to resume vaccinations with the English-Swedish jab on Friday. As of Thursday, Germany had administered more than 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including the AstraZeneca vaccine.