A senior official from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has claimed there is a link between the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine and blood clots.
Speaking to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Marco Cavaleri, head of the vaccine strategy at the EMA, said it was ‘clear there is a link with the vaccine’, although the cause is still unclear.
He said the risk of cerebral thrombosis, blood clotting in the brain, was higher among younger people, compared to the general population. Seven people have died from rare blood clots after receiving their jab in the UK, although their ages and health conditions have not been revealed.
There have been 30 blood clot cases linked to the vaccine in the UK, out of 18.1 million people who have received the jab, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said.
Dr June Raine, the MHRA’s chief executive, said previously: ‘The benefits of Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca in preventing COVID-19 infection and its complications continue to outweigh any risks and the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so.’
Some countries, such as Germany, have now restricted the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine while investigations continue. However, the European medicines watchdog and the World Health Organisation have both said it’s safe to use.
The UK’s uptake of the vaccine has remained steady despite the concerns, experts said at the weekend.
Edinburgh University’s Professor Linda Bauld explained: ‘It doesn’t look from the behavioural response, the surveys I’ve seen, that it’s affecting uptake in the UK and that’s really important.’
More than than a fifth of the UK’s vaccine haul is tied up in the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab. The Government has secured a total of 457 million doses of vaccines, of which 100 million are from AstraZeneca.
Today vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said he was ‘confident’ the Government will meet their commitment to offer a vaccine to all adults by the end of July, even if the deployment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab is paused.
The Moderna vaccine is due to be rolled out across the UK ‘around the third week of April’, he said this morning. The Government signed a deal for delivery of the 17 million doses by spring.
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