07/04/2021 The EMA is currently reviewing the vaccine. Photo credit: Getty Images
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. In my opinion, we can now say it, it is clear that there is an association (of the brain blood clots) with the vaccine. However, we still do not know what causes this reaction, Marco Cavaleri, chair of the vaccine evaulation team at the EMA, told Italian daily Il Messagero.
2021-04-07 14:36:37 GMT2021-04-07 22:36:37(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
MADRID, April 7 (Xinhua) The Department of Health of Spain s Castilla y Leon autonomous community said on Wednesday that it was suspending the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a precautionary measure due to blood clot concerns.
The statement said that the department was waiting for the conclusions of the European Medicines Agency s (EMA) Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee on the safety of the vaccine. The committee was scheduled to meet on Wednesday and its findings may soon be adopted by the executive bodies of the European Union (EU) and the (Spanish) national health system.
UPDATE 1-EU health ministers to meet at 1600 GMT after EMA decision on AstraZeneca shot safety Reuters 3 hrs ago
(adds details about the meeting)
BRUSSELS, April 7 (Reuters) - 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.
Live updates from Oxford Astrazeneca Covid vaccine safety briefing
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam is hosting a briefing with the UK s medicines regulator
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England’s deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam is hosting a briefing with the UK s medicines regulator following an investigation into the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and potential links with blood clots.
The televised media briefing starts at 3pm – the same time the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is offering an update on whether it thinks there is a causal link between the jab and rare clots.
Prof Van-Tam will be joined by Dr June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chairman of the Commission on Human Medicines, and Professor Wei Shen, chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).