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Covid-19: EU regulator says AZ clot risk rare as countries battle surges
A number of nations have suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine for younger populations after it was earlier banned outright in several places over blood clot scares.
The EU’s medicines regulator said on Wednesday that blood clots should be listed as a rare side effect of AstraZeneca’s jab against Covid-19 but the benefits continue to outweigh risks, as several countries battle fresh coronavirus surges amid vaccine shortfalls.
A number of nations have suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine for younger populations after it was earlier banned outright in several places over blood clot scares.
The UK on Wednesday said that people under the age of 30 should choose alternatives to the vaccine, after reporting 19 deaths from clots among people who received the shot.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said blood clots should be listed as a “very rare” side effect, encouraging countries to continue its use.
The announcement came after the EMA’s safety committee examined reports of blood clots, but EMA chief Emer Cooke said no particular risk factor had been identified and the clots could be linked to an immune response to the vaccine.
“Specific risk factors such as age, gender or medical history have not been able to be confirmed, as the rare events are seen in all ages,” she said. “The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19 overall outweigh the risk of side effects... It is saving lives.”
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed support for a snap lockdown to stem rising cases.
Hard-hit France imposed tighter measures this week, while Ukraine reported record new fatalities and hospitalisations despite tightening measures.
AstraZeneca’s UK vaccine trial on children paused
Vaccinations of children in a study of the Covid-19 shot developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have been paused. No safety issues have arisen in the children’s trial, the university has said.
The action comes after a growing number of reports of rare brain blood clots in younger adults have led some countries, including several in the EU, to suspend use of the vaccine in certain age groups.
Germany halted use of the Astra-Oxford vaccine for people younger than 60 last week, while Canada has limited its use to those more than 55 years old.
CDC: Strain found in UK is most common in US
A variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain is now the most common strain circulating in the US. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr Rochelle Walensky, said the strain, known as B.1.1.7, is “now the most common lineage circulating in United States”.
