LONDON – The UK medical regulator said on Saturday that of 30 people who suffered blood clots after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, seven died. He did not disclose any information about his age or health conditions.
British recognition of the deaths comes at a time when several European countries have stopped using the AstraZeneca jab because of a possible link with blood clots.
The UK Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, said in a statement that “Of the 30 reports up to and including March 24, unfortunately 7 have died”.
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The MHRA urged people to continue taking the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. He said it was unclear whether the injections are causing the clots and that his “rigorous review of the UK’s reports on rare and specific types of blood clots is in progress”.
In total, MHRA said it had identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events from 18.1 million doses of AstraZeneca administered until March 24 and inclusive. The risk associated with this type of blood clot is “very small”, he added.
“The benefits of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19 infection and its complications continue to outweigh any risks and the public should continue to receive their vaccine when asked to do so,” said Dr. June Raine, executive director of the agency.
Concern about the AstraZeneca vaccine has already led some countries, including Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands, to restrict its use to older people. The United Kingdom, which launched coronavirus vaccines faster than other European nations, is particularly dependent on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed by scientists at the University of Oxford.
MHRA’s view on the relative benefits of the vaccine is shared by the European Medicines Agency. He said that a causal link between unusual blood clots in people who received the vaccine “is not proven, but it is possible”, and that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of side effects. The EMA is expected to announce updated advice on the subject on April 7.
The World Health Organization has also asked countries to continue using the jab.
Adam Finn, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol, said that the “extreme rarity” of blood clotting events in the context of the millions of jabs administered in the UK makes people’s decision very simple.
“Receiving the vaccine is by far the safest choice in terms of minimizing an individual’s risk of serious illness or death,” he said.
A more detailed analysis of the MHRA’s findings shows that of the 30 cases, 22 were related to cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, which interrupts the correct drainage of blood from the brain, and eight were related to other low platelet thrombosis events.
He said there were no reports of any blood clotting events surrounding the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which was also widely implemented in the UK.
The Netherlands on Friday suspended vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under the age of 60, after five new cases among women, one of whom died.
Germany made a similar decision earlier this week.
AstraZeneca said last month, after efficiency tests in the United States, that its vaccine is 79 percent effective in preventing the disease and does not increase the risk of blood clots.
The UK administered more than 31 million of the first doses of the vaccine, using the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech jabs. People cannot choose which one to receive.
The UK in June 2020 ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and supported its development. He also ordered 30 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the same year.
