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WHO, EMA and CARPHA addresses claims of blood clots from AstraZeneca vaccine
– WHO, EMA says vaccine is safe for use
Kaieteur News – The World Health Organization (WHO), the European Medical Agency (EMA) and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) have all addressed claims of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine being linked to blood clots, which ultimately led to some countries suspending the use of the vaccine in their immunization programs. Some of those countries are Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Bulgaria.
Following reports of the suspensions, the WHO launched an investigation into persons allegedly receiving blood clots after receiving the vaccine. In one instance, it was also stated that a 50-year-old man had died in Italy after developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
However, a WHO spokeswoman, Margaret Harris, at a briefing recently, stated that countries should not halt the use of the vaccine in their immunization campaigns because there is no indication that the blood clot reports being linked to the vaccine is true. Harris said that there is no link between the blood clots and the jab or that there is an increased risk of developing a blood clot.
Further, she referred to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as an “excellent vaccine.”
According to the BBC, around 5 million Europeans have been vaccinated using the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Harris was also quoted as saying that blood clotting episodes are common in people “so it’s not clear if this was something that was going to happen,” so it cannot be said that the vaccine was responsible. “A causal relationship ….has not been shown,” Harris contended.
The EMA, which is the European Union’s medicine regulatory agency, also addressed the issue of blood clots, stating that “There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine. The position of EMA’s safety committee, PRAC, is that the vaccine’s benefits continue to outweigh its risks, and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is on-going.”
The Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), is the EMA’s committee that is responsible for assessing and monitoring the safety of medicines.
It further stated that the AstraZeneca vaccine is made up of another virus “(of the adenovirus family) that has been modified to contain the gene for making a protein from SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca does not contain the virus itself and cannot cause COVID-19.”
The most common side effects according to the EMA are usually mild or moderate and persons improve within a few days after being vaccinated.
Referring to the suspensions, the Trinidad based CARPHA said that it was done as a precautionary measure while a full investigation is conducted into the reports of the blood clots. “At present, it cannot be determined whether there is a link between the vaccine and the disorders. Adverse reactions that happen following immunization with any vaccine need to be fully investigated to rule out various factors, for example, illnesses, the progression of a disease, and batch assessment, before a final decision is made by the health authorities,” the health agency noted.
Additionally, CARPHA highlighted that the vaccine being used in the Caribbean is not the same version or batch as the one in Europe.
Kaieteur News would have previously reported that there are two versions of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
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