The European Medicines Agency has said that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective, and not associated with an increased overall risk of developing blood clots.
The regulator conducted a review of the vaccine after a small number of people developed blood clots in Europe after receiving the vaccine. Thirteen countries suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in response.
Benefits outweigh risk
In the United Kingdom, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency also stated the evidence does not suggest that blood clots in veins were caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine. Both agencies strongly emphasised that the benefits of being vaccinated far outweighed any potential risk.
They also noted that blood clotting could be a consequence of Covid-19 itself. This is just one of a host of other causes of clots, which are laid out here by Adam Taylor, Professor in Anatomy at Lancaster University.
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