(Reuters) – AstraZeneca Plc on Sunday said a review of safety data from people vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine showed no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.
AstraZeneca’s survey, which covers more than 17 million people vaccinated in the UK and the European Union, comes after health authorities in some countries suspended the use of the vaccine due to clotting issues.
A careful review of all available safety data from more than 17 million people vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union and the United Kingdom, AstraZeneca showed no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia, at any particular time not group, gender, group or in any particular country, ”the company said.
Authorities in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands have suspended the use of the vaccine due to clotting problems, while Austria stopped using a number of AstraZeneca shots last week while investigating the deaths due to clotting disorders.
“It is very unfortunate that countries have stopped vaccinating for such ‘precautionary’ reasons: they run the risk of actually harming the target of vaccinating enough people to slow down the spread of the virus, and to end the pandemic. to end, “said Peter English, a retired Briton. government consultant in the control of communicable diseases, told Reuters.
The European Medicines Agency said there was no indication that the events were caused by the vaccination, which was reflected by the World Health Organization on Friday.
The drugmaker said 15 cases of deep vein thrombosis and 22 incidents of pulmonary embolism have been reported so far, similar to other licensed COVID-19 vaccines.
The company said that additional tests are being done by the company and the European health authorities and that none of the retests are cause for concern. The monthly safety report will be posted on the EMA website next week, AstraZeneca said.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, has been approved for use in the European Union and many countries, but not yet by US regulators.
The company is in the process of submitting an emergency authorization in the US and expects data from its US Phase III trial to be available in the coming weeks.
Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Kate Kelland in London; Edited by Jane Merriman and Daniel Wallis