The events of the past 24 hours have left many concerned and unsure of how safe the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 is.
A Quick Summary of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Relationship with Rare Cases of Clots
After days of speculative media coverage, European drug regulators on Wednesday confirmed a credible link between the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and unusual cases of blood clots, with UK authorities recommending that people under the age of 30 should take vaccines. alternatives.
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While the European Medicines Agency and its British counterpart acknowledged that mounting evidence pointed to a link, they both emphasized that the chances of clots were still very low and that AstraZeneca’s vaccine was still very effective in preventing COVID-19.
The EMA’s decision was based on 18 deaths in 62 cases of clotting in the sinuses that drain blood from the brain and 24 cases of clotting in the abdomen. The cases were reported in an EU database of European countries, including the UK, where around 25 million people have been vaccinated.
AstraZeneca vaccine can cause unusual clots 4:14
They recommend people under 30 to take vaccines other than AstraZeneca
The European regulator recommended that the vaccine continue to be used normally, while the United Kingdom warned that people under the age of 30 should receive a different vaccine. The reason for this is that as the age group gets younger, the chances of severe illness or death from Covid-19 decrease, which means that the margin between benefits and risks is reduced.
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The British government is already fighting back in the hope that Wednesday’s news will leave no room for doubt about vaccines. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock tried to reassure the British this morning that vaccination was being carried out ‘in the safest way possible’.
“Rest assured, we are taking a lot of caution,” Hancock told Sky News on Thursday. “All three vaccines that are used in the UK are safe for all ages. But there is a preference with respect to those under 30 years of age, if instead of AstraZeneca they want to have the injection of Pfizer or Moderna ».
The Daily Telegraph newspaper even found and spoke to the family of a man who died of a blood clot after receiving the vaccine, saying they still believe that people should get the injection when given the chance.
This story, of course, has implications beyond the UK, and developments in the coming days will be very important in the global fight against coronavirus. Many developing countries rely on the AstraZeneca vaccine as their way out of the pandemic.