UK regulator found 30 cases of blood clot events after AstraZeneca vaccine use
Vials with COVID-19 Vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. (Photo: AFP/Justin Tallis)
LONDON: British regulators on Thursday (Apr 1) said they have identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events after the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, 25 more than the agency previously reported.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it had received no such reports of clotting events following use of the vaccine made by BioNTech and Pfizer.
The health officials said they still believe the benefits of the vaccine in the prevention of COVID-19 far outweigh any possible risk of blood clots.
Some countries are restricting use of the AstraZeneca vaccine while others have resumed inoculations, as investigations into reports of rare, and sometimes severe, blood clots continue.
READ: US may not need AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, says Anthony Fauci
READ: EU, UK drug regulators rally behind AstraZeneca vaccine after safety concerns
On Mar 18, the UK medicines regulator said that there had been five cases of a rare brain blood clot among 11 million administered shots.
On Thursday, it put the count at 22 reports of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, an extremely rare brain clotting ailment, and eight reports of other clotting events associated with low blood platelets out of a total of 18.1 million doses given.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram​​​​​​
