The European Union Drug Control Agency says the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday released its findings from an examination of medical records on millions of people who received the drug. It began with the investigation following reports that a small number of people were experiencing blood systems, or blood clots, after receiving the vaccine. Last week, several European countries suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine as a result.
The EMA spoke after an extraordinary meeting to discuss concerns between its member states and others.
Emer Cooke leads the EMA. She told reporters on Thursday: ‘Our scientific view is that this vaccine is safe and effective. option to protect citizens from COVID-19. ”
Cooke added: “If it was me, I would be vaccinated tomorrow.”
However, she said the agency could not definitively rule out a link between blood clots and the vaccine.
The EMA said it was investigating an investigation into about 25 cases of rare blood clots from 20 million people who received the vaccine by March 16. must be studied further.
The agency said the number of reported blood clots is lower than expected in the general population. This led to the conclusion, according to the EMA, that “the total risk of blood clots is not increased.”
Resume vaccination programs
About 13 European countries have suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of possible blood clots related to the shots.
On Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi welcomed the decision of the EMA. He said Italy would start AstraZeneca vaccinations by Friday.
When the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for emergency use in Britain last December, the shot was described as the ‘vaccine for the world’. It costs much less than vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. It also does not require extreme cold storage, which makes it easier to use in countries with limited resources.
COVAX is an international program to introduce coronavirus vaccines for people around the world. It hopes to deliver at least 2 billion shots, especially from AstraZeneca, to poor countries around the world.
Two other vaccines are approved for emergency use in Europe. One is from Pfizer-BioNTech and the other is a Moderna product. In the United States, health officials have approved vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson for emergency use.
AstraZeneca plans to get US government approval in the coming months.
Michael Head is a top researcher at the British University of Southampton. He is concerned that people are less likely to be injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine when the suspensions end. ‘This is at a time when we need to stop the virus circulate, “he said,” to further reduce the chances of variant upcoming.”
The director of the World Health Organization for Europe, Hans Kluge, spoke to reporters on Thursday and said that countries should continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine.
He added: ‘We need to renew confidence, if lost, to repair it – especially for AstraZeneca. ”
I’m Caty Weaver.
Hai Do wrote this story to learn English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
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Words in this story
option – n. a choice or possibility
circulate – to move from group to group
variant – n. a virus that is in someone other than the other
emerge – to become famous
confidence – n. feeling or belief that something is good