“Safe and efficient”, the verdict of the European Agency …

The The European Medicines Agency (EMA) released its verdict on AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, suspended in several countries of the European Union. “It is safe and effective “, assured the regulator and explained that is ‘not associated’ with an increased risk of blood clots, announced Thursday the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The opinion of the EMA was eagerly awaited. The stake is the fate of the millions of doses ordered from the Swedish-British firm through Europe. So far, seven European states, including Germany, France and Spain, have suspended the administration of this vaccine.

The alleged an adverse reaction to the vaccine has been recorded in about 20 people out of a total of 17 million who received a dose in Europe.

“The committee came to a clear scientific conclusion: this is a safe and effective vaccine,” EMA executive director Emer Cooke said in a video conference. Although the European Union regulator explained that the vaccine, in which the University of Oxford had a leading role in development “is not associated” with greater risks of blood clots, it clarified that he does not “definitively” rule out a link with coagulation problems.

“Based on the available evidence, and after days of in-depth analysis” of the available data, “we cannot definitively rule out a link between these cases and the vaccine,” the official said.

EMA had given the green light on January 29 to this vaccine. Its verdict follows the recommendations of thethe World Health Organization (WHO), which on Wednesday recommended that the drug from the Anglo-Swedish laboratory continue to be used. “For the moment, the risk / benefit balance is in favor of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” said the United Nations body and recommended that “the vaccination continue”.

The pause in vaccination with the drug AstraZeneca comes as the coronavirus continues to advance in Europe and just as delays in shipping doses from the UK are expected. Tens of thousands of new cases of Covid-19 have forced Italy to impose new lockdowns, caused an increase in hospitalizations in France and led Germany to declare that Europe is already facing a third wave of disease.