Covid 19: AstraZeneca vaccine is not linked to increased risk of blood clots, finds European Medicine Agency
The Oxford AstraZeneca covid 19 vaccine is not linked to an increased risk of blood clots and is both safe and effective, an investigation by the European Medicine Agency (EMA) has concluded.1 The in depth analysis of evidence including laboratory results, clinical reports, autopsies, and clinical trial data was carried out after a small number of blood clot cases (37) were reported in people who had received the vaccine. This led to 16 EU countries halting their vaccine rollout.2 "The committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion. This is a safe and effective vaccine," said Emer Cooke, EMA executive director, at a press conference on 18 March. "Its benefits in protecting people from covid 19 with the associated risks of death and hospitalisation outweigh the possible risks. The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots." Sabine Straus, chair of the Pharmacovigilance Risk
BMJ