- Seven people died of blood clots after the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, UK regulators said.
- A total of 30 blood clots possibly linked to the vaccine have been reported in the United Kingdom.
- The UK drug regulator says the benefits of injections outweigh the risks.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
Seven people died of blood clots after receiving AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, the UK’s Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) reported on Saturday, according to several reports.
The agency reported on Thursday 25 new cases of rare blood clots possibly linked to the vaccine, bringing the total number of cases to 30, but did not indicate how many people, if any, died. MHRA has not received clotting reports after the BioNTech and Pfizer vaccine, it said in its report Thursday.
It is not yet clear whether the AstraZeneca vaccine is causing blood clots or whether it is just a coincidence.
MHRA keeps the shots safe. Seven deaths in more than 18 million doses of AstraZeneca administered until March 24 still mean that adverse results possibly related to the injection are extremely rare.
“The benefits … 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, chief executive. from the MHRA, to the BBC.
Many countries have resumed the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine
In March, more than a dozen countries, mainly in Europe, temporarily suspended the launch of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns about its possible link to the rare blood clots, reported Barnider Lane of the Insider.
Many have resumed or partially resumed use after the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization emphasized their safety.
“The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of side effects,” said the European Medicines Agency at a news conference on March 31, echoing what the regulator said in the previous weeks.
As previously reported by Dr. Catherine Schuster-Bruce of Insider, the EMA said that a panel of experts, including hematologists, neurologists and epidemiologists, was unable to identify any specific risk factors, including age, sex or previous medical disorder that increased the risk of some people “from those rare events.”
While there are some theories as to why a vaccine can lead to blood clots, none have been proven in this case, said the EMA.