The head of Europe’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said regulatory officials are “convinced” that the benefits of AstraZeneca’s new coronavirus vaccine far outweigh the risks, even as they continue to consider the link between the vaccine and reported cases of blood clots in vaccine recipients.
Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency, said at a Web video press conference at the agency’s headquarters in Amsterdam that there was no indication that what she called “very rare” blood clots were caused by the vaccine, but experts were still assessing the possibility.
Cook told reporters that the credibility of the vaccine’s safety is critical and that the European Medicines Agency conducts case-by-case assessments. The EMA’s safety committee met Tuesday (March 16) to assess the new information, and all findings will be considered on Thursday before being made public, she said.
If further action is needed, she said, an announcement will be made at that Time.
The World health Organization is conducting similar deliberations on the vaccine.
Sweden and Latvia became the European countries that suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday. So far, more than a dozen European countries have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine since news first broke that people had developed blood clots after receiving it.
Other EU countries that have suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccine are France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
The European Medicines Agency approved the AstraZeneca vaccine on Jan. 29.
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