[ad_1]
Rare cases of serious blood clots, known as vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT), have recently been reported in Europe following post-approval use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, mainly in women under 55 years.
According to the Vaccines Committee, the rate of this adverse event remains to be confirmed and information is being collected to be more precise.
<< Following population analyzes by VIPIT assessing the risk of COVID-19 disease by age, and considering that other products are available (i.e. mRNA vaccines), according to what is currently known, there is substantial uncertainty about the benefits of providing AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine for adults under 55 given the potential risks associated with VIPIT, particularly at lower estimated rates. , "said committee officials.
As a precaution, while Health Canada conducts an updated risk-benefit analysis based on emerging data, the committee recommends that the vaccine not be available to adults under 55 years of age, but will continue to do so. reassess based on “rapidly evolving evidence”.
The committee said that as the AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to represent only a small proportion of the Covid-19 vaccines available for use in Canada, vaccinations “will not be significantly delayed.”
CNN reached out to the drugmaker for comment, but did not get an immediate response.
The agency’s executive director, Emer Cooke, said several weeks ago that the agency “came to a clear scientific conclusion: this is a safe and effective vaccine.”
Cooke said the group had not found the vaccine to cause clotting, although it could not definitively rule out a link to a rare blood clotting disorder, of which seven cases have been reported out of several million doses given. .
She said the benefits of using the vaccine outweighed the risk.
An agency committee “concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increased overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots,” Cooke said.
More than a dozen European countries have stopped their use of the vaccine. Some countries resumed immunizations while others continued their breaks.
The World Health Organization also said there was no relationship between the vaccine and common bleeding disorders.
Canada received a boost from the Biden administration in recent weeks when the two countries reached a deal that will see the United States release 1.5 million of their doses of AstraZeneca to Canada at some point. The United States is storing the AstraZeneca vaccine until it receives FDA clearance, which is not likely until at least next month.
CNN’s Maggie Fox, Rob Picheta and Paula Newton contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link