COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University/AstraZeneca may be connected with a rare type of blood clotting in the brain, the World Health Organization (WHO) has noted.
Earlier this week, WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) met and reviewed the safety data of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine provided by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
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According to a statement by the GACVS, an association between AstraZeneca’s Coronavirus vaccine and the occurrence of blood clots with low platelets is plausible but not confirmed.
Specialized studies are needed to fully understand the potential relationship between AstraZeneca’s vaccine and possible risk factors.
Although concerning, the blood clotting cases under assessment are very rare, with low numbers reported among 200 million people who have received AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine around the world.
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However, the benefits of AstraZeneca’s vaccine in preventing COVID-19 infection and its complications continue to outweigh any risks, the GACVS’s statement added.
GACVS will meet again next week to review additional data from EMA and MHRA and will issue further recommendations following the meeting.
