The syringes are filled with Astrazeneca vaccine at the pharmacy.
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LONDON – European Medicines Regulator announced on Wednesday a possible link between the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and the rare problems of blood clotting in adults who have received the vaccine.
It comes after a review of all currently available evidence in extremely rare cases of unusual blood clots in some vaccinated people.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca shooting has been marred by safety concerns in recent weeks, with several European countries briefly suspending vaccine use last month.
The European Medicines Agency stated on 31 March that it had found the vaccine to be safe and effective, but added that it could not rule out the possibility of a causal link between the vaccine and coagulation events so that the investigation could continue.
The World Health Organization, the British Drug Regulatory Authority and the International Society for Thrombosis and Hemostasis have said that the benefits of administering oxygen to Oxford-AstraZeneca far outweigh the risks.
AstraZeneca previously said that its studies did not reveal a higher risk of blood clots forming as a result of its vaccine.
Most countries have since resumed the use of photography, but many have suspended vaccinations in certain age groups.
A senior official from the European Medicines Authority said on Tuesday that there was a clear “association” between the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and very rare blood clots in the brain, although the direct cause was not yet known.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero published on Tuesday, Marco Cavaleri, chairman of the EMA vaccine evaluation team, said: “In my opinion we can say now, it is clear that there is an association with the vaccine. However, I still do not know. what causes this reaction. “
The EMA subsequently denied any links between the Oxford-AstraZeneca shooting and rare blood clots in a statement to France-Presse.
The study of the British vaccine in children has been discontinued
The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency, the body that approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the UK, analyzed the data following a handful of reports – both in the UK and in continental Europe – of blood clots. serious but rare blood, some of which were fatal.
A UK study of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in children has already been discontinued as the drug regulator investigated a possible link between the shooting and blood clotting disorders, especially cases of blood clots in the veins of the brain, known as the name of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), as well as thrombocytopenia (low levels of platelets in the blood that help the blood to clot).
The British government noted that as of March 24 inclusive, there had been 22 reports of CVST and 8 reports of other low platelet thrombosis events, out of a total of 18.1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine (a double-stroke). doses) given until that date.
People are waiting in a vaccination center in Cologne, Germany, on April 5, 2021.
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“We need to know more about those affected and we need to understand exactly how the disease came about, while many other questions remain unanswered at this time,” said Adam Finn, a professor of pediatrics at Bristol University in the UK. Wednesday’s announcement. .
“However, there are some things that are very clear. The first is that these cases are really very rare. The second is that the vaccines available and used in the UK prevent COVID very effectively,” Finn said.
In short, if you are currently being given a dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, your chances of staying alive and well will increase if you take the vaccine and will decrease if you don’t.
– CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.