‘Clear link’ between AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots: official

A senior official at the European drug regulator said there appears to be a “clear link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots.

“In my opinion, we can speak now, it is clear that there is a connection with the vaccine. But we still don’t know what causes this reaction, ”Marco Cavaleri, president of the European Medicines Agency’s vaccine evaluation team, told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero on Tuesday.

He said that “in the next few hours, we will say that there is a connection, but we still have to understand how it happens”.

The regulator is investigating 44 reports of an extremely rare brain clotting disease, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

Cavaleri said the agency will still not be able to provide guidance on what age is safe to receive the vaccine, although a high proportion of cases occur among young and middle-aged women.

People expect to receive a dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in London, England.
People expect to receive a dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in London, England.
REUTERS / Henry Nicholls

AstraZeneca and regulators have repeatedly said the benefits outweigh the risks, noting that blood clots were rare and occurred in 9.2 million people in the European Economic Area.

“While the investigation is ongoing, we are still firmly convinced that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risk of these side effects,” said EMA’s executive director, Emer Cooke, last month during a briefing.

Several European countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, have suspended the use of the vaccine while regulators investigated reports of blood clots.

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