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A review by the European medicines regulator concluded that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is “safe and effective” and that its benefits outweigh the risks.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) found that the vaccine was “not associated” with a higher risk of blood clots.
But he said he would continue to explore the possibility of such links.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday called on countries to continue using the vaccine.
Decisions to suspend use of the vaccine by 13 EU states raised concerns about the pace of the vaccination campaign in the region, which had previously been affected by supply shortages.
Much of Europe is struggling to contain an increase in coronavirus cases.
WHO is due to publish the results of its own vaccine safety review on Friday.
The EMA’s investigation focused on a small number of cases of unusual blood disorders. In particular, he looked at cases of cerebral venous thrombosis – blood clots in the head.
Why have European countries acted?
Thirteen EU countries have suspended use of the vaccine, after reporting a small number of cases of blood clots among those vaccinated in the region.
On Monday, the three largest members of the EU – Germany, France and Italy – said they were awaiting the results of the EMA investigation before deciding whether or not to resume the deployment of the jab .
They said they had chosen to suspend their use of the drug as a “precautionary measure”.
“There have been some very unusual and disturbing cases that warrant this pause and this analysis,” French immunologist Alain Fischer, who heads a government advisory board, told France Inter. “This is not wasted time.”
In Germany, the health ministry also reported a small number of rare blood clots in those vaccinated to justify its decision. He postponed a summit on expanding vaccine deployment ahead of the EMA announcement.
Other countries, such as Austria, have ended the use of certain batches of the drug, while Belgium, Poland and the Czech Republic were among those who said they would continue to administer the vaccine. AstraZeneca.
It is up to each country to decide whether or not to follow EMA’s advice.
The decisions to stop the deployment of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been criticized by some politicians and scientists.
A spokeswoman for Germany’s opposition Free Democrats said the decision delayed the rollout of vaccination in the country. German Greens’ health expert Janosch Dahmen, meanwhile, argued that authorities could have continued to use the drug.
Dr Anthony Cox, who studies drug safety at the UK University of Birmingham, told the BBC it was a “cascade of bad decisions that have spread across Europe”.
What did AstraZeneca say?
The company says there is no evidence of an increased risk of clotting from the vaccine.
He said he had received 37 reports of blood clots from more than 17 million people vaccinated in the EU and UK as of March 8.
These numbers were “much lower than one would naturally expect in a general population of this size and are similar for other licensed Covid-19 vaccines,” he said.
Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford vaccination group that developed the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, told the BBC on Monday that there was “very reassuring evidence that there is no increase in blood clot phenomenon here in the UK, where most doses in Europe [have] been given so far ”.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock this week urged people to “listen to the regulators” and “take the hit”.
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