The World Health Organization said countries should not stop using AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine amid fears that people who received the injection will develop blood clots.
At a briefing on Friday, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said that no causal link had been established between the British pharmaceutical’s “excellent” injection and the blood clot cases that emerged in Europe.
“It is very important to understand that, yes, we should continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine,” said Harris.
The WHO vaccine advisory committee is, however, reviewing the reported blood clots, which have led nearly a dozen countries to suspend or delay the distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Denmark, Norway and Iceland have stopped using the shot since Danish authorities reported “serious cases” of blood clots in vaccinated people, one of which was linked to a death.
Six countries, including Italy and Austria, have suspended the use of two separate batches of the vaccine due to similar concerns, while Thailand has postponed the launch of the vaccine. Bulgaria also suspended AstraZeneca vaccinations on Friday after the death of a woman who showed no signs of blood clots.
Harris said more than 268 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered worldwide and none of them caused deaths. She noted that coronavirus vaccinations do not “reduce deaths from any other cause”.
“We must always ensure that we look for any safety signs when we distribute the vaccines and we must review them,” said Harris, according to the news agency Agence France-Presse. “But there is no indication not to use it.”
AstraZeneca said it found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis – conditions marked by blood clots – in more than 10 million safety data records for its vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency of the European Union also said on Thursday that there is no indication that the injection of AstraZeneca caused blood clots, adding that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.
The injection of AstraZeneca is expected to play a crucial role in the WHO COVAX initiative, which aims to distribute 2 billion doses of vaccines this year and ensure that poor countries have access to vaccines.
The company, based in Cambridge, UK, plans to supply “hundreds of millions of doses” to 142 countries through the initiative in the coming months, it said last week.
US listed AstraZeneca shares fell about 1.4% to $ 48.01 at the beginning of Friday’s trading session.
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