EU health ministers were tonight locked in talks following the regulator s verdict that the AstraZeneca vaccine s benefits outweigh the risk of blood clotting.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) today said the jab should come with a clear warning that clots were a very rare side effect , but stopped short of banning it for younger age groups.
Some member states have been limiting the vaccine to older citizens, while others have suspended its rollout entirely.
Am extraordinary virtual meeting of the bloc s health ministers was convened after the EMA s afternoon press conference to take stock and thrash out a response.
British health chiefs today ruled that people under 30 should be given an alternative to AstraZeneca where possible because the benefits of the jab do not clearly outweigh the risks, in a significant divergence from their colleagues in Brussels.
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HOME > TECH >Clear link between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots in brain, EMA official tells paper
Clear link between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots in brain, EMA official tells paper
Reuters | Apr 06, 2021 10:46 PM EDT
A vial with the AstraZeneca s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is pictured in Berlin, Germany, (Photo : REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke)
There is a link between AstraZeneca s COVID-19 vaccine and very rare blood clots in the brain but the possible causes are still unknown, a senior official for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an interview published on Tuesday.
However, the EMA later said in a statement that its review of the vaccine was ongoing and it expected to announce its findings on Wednesday or Thursday. An AstraZeneca spokesman declined to comment on the matter.
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BRUSSELS European Union health ministers will hold a meeting on Wednesday on vaccine rollouts after the EU drugs regulator announces its decision on the safety of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the EU presidency said.
Health Minister Marta Temido of Portugal, which holds the EU presidency, will host the gathering from 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) “following the public announcement of the conclusions of the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee of EMA on the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” a spokeswoman for the Portuguese presidency wrote on Twitter.
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The European Union s drug regulator on Wednesday announced its findings into the possible connection between AstraZeneca s COVID-19 vaccine and rare blood clots.
Updated April 7, 2021 at 11:52 AM ET
The European Union s drug regulator said Wednesday that the benefits of AstraZeneca s COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its risks, but that rare blood clotting events should be listed as a possible side effect.
The European Medicines Agency s assessment comes after a panel of experts reviewed reports of unusual blood clots occurring in some vaccine recipients.
Officials stressed these events are rare and said that while they appear to be more common in women under the age of 60, there is not enough available evidence to confirm specific risk factors such as age, gender or previous medical history.
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The “unusual” blood clotting following vaccination with the AstraZeneca jab should be listed as a “possible side effect of the vaccine”, said Dr Sabine Straus, safety committee chairwoman at the European Medicines Agency (EMA).