The syringes are filled with Astrazeneca vaccine at the pharmacy.
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LONDON – The European Medicines Regulator on Wednesday announced a possible link between the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and the rare blood clotting problems in adults who received the shot..
It comes after a review of all currently available evidence on extremely rare cases of unusual blood clots in some vaccinated people.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca shooting has been the subject of safety concerns in recent weeks, and several European countries briefly suspended its use of the vaccine last month.
The European Medicines Agency said on March 31 that it had found the shot 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 it would continue. investigating.
The World Health Organization, the UK drug regulator and the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis have said the benefits of the Oxford-AstraZeneca administration far outweigh the risks.
AstraZeneca has previously said that its studies have not found a higher risk of blood clots as a result of your vaccine.
Since then, most countries have resumed the use of the shot, but many have suspended inoculations in certain age groups.
A senior European drug regulator official said on Tuesday that there is a clear “association” between the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and very rare blood clots in the brain, although the direct cause is not yet known.
In an interview published Tuesday in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Marco Cavaleri, chairman of the EMA vaccine evaluation team, said: “In my opinion, we can now say, it is clear that there is a association with the vaccine. However, I still don’t know what causes this reaction. “
The EMA subsequently denied that it had established any link between the Oxford-AstraZeneca shooting and rare blood clots in a statement to the Agence França-Presse.
The UK vaccine trial in children has stopped
The Agency for Medicines and Healthcare Products, the body that approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the UK, has been examining the data after a handful of reports, both in the UK and in the UK. ‘Continental Europe, of severe but rare blood clots. , some of which have been fatal.
A trial in the UK of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in children had already stopped while the drug regulator was investigating a possible link between the shot and blood clotting disorders, specifically, cases of blood clots in the veins of the brain , known as cerebral venous thrombosis (CVST), as well as thrombocytopenia (low levels of blood platelets that help blood clot).
The UK 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 the vaccine. AstraZeneca (a two-dose shot) given for this date.
People are waiting at a vaccination center in Cologne, Germany, on April 5, 2021.
Marius Becker | alliance image | Getty Images
“We need to know more about the people affected and we need to understand exactly how the diseases arose, while many other questions remain unanswered at this time,” said Adam Finn, a professor of pediatrics at the British University, before Wednesday’s announcement.
“However, there are some things that are very clear. The first is that these cases are very rare. The second is that vaccines available and used in the UK prevent COVID very effectively,” he said. Finn.
“In short, if you are currently offered a dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, you will increase your chances of surviving if you get the vaccine and it will go down if you don’t.”
– CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.