The European Union drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, has declared the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ‘safe and effective’.
This was disclosed by the EMA on its verified Twitter account on Thursday evening.
The EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) concludes that the benefits of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine (which itself results in clotting problems and may be fatal) still outweigh its risks despite possible link to rare blood clots associated with low levels of blood platelets.
Speaking during a press conference following PRAC’s examination, EMA’s Chief Emer Cooke said that “the committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion: this is a safe and effective vaccine.”
“The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots.”
Cooke added that: “If it was me I would be vaccinated tomorrow.
“During the investigation and review we began to see a small number of cases of rare and unusual but very serious clotting disorder and this then triggered a more focused review,” said Cooke.
After concluding its preliminary review of a signal of blood clots in people vaccinated with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, EMA’s safety committee, PRAC, also confirmed that:
“The vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of blood clots (thromboembolic events) in those who receive it;
PRAC added that “there is no evidence of a problem related to specific batches of the vaccine or to particular manufacturing sites;
However, the committee continued, “the vaccine may be associated with very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia, i.e. low levels of blood platelets (elements in the blood that help it to clot) with or without bleeding, including rare cases of clots in the vessels draining blood from the brain (CVST).”
