The head of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) vaccine evaluation team, Marco Cavaleri, said that “it is now becoming increasingly difficult to argue that there is no causal link between AstraZeneki (against COVID-19) and very rare unusual cases of blood clots”.
The AstraZeneki vaccine and blood clots
In an interview with the Italian daily Il Messaggero, published on Tuesday, Cavaleri referred to an in-depth study of thrombosis in people over 55, mostly women, explaining that the work was “far from complete”.
– We strive to have a clear picture of what is happening, to define in detail this symptom resulting from the vaccine – he assured.
Asked by the newspaper whether it could already be concluded that it was due to the vaccine, he replied: In my opinion, we can already say that, it is clear that there is a link to the vaccine. However, he stated that the EMA did not yet know “what was causing this reaction”.
He announced that in the near future the agency would state that “there is a relationship, but when it happens, it must be established”.
He announced the study of individual age groups, especially young women, as the next step in the research.
He stated that it would be difficult to indicate the age limit of people who will be allowed to administer the preparation, as some countries have done. ‘The reason is very simple: we are a regulatory agency and we need very precise data on the risk-benefit ratio,’ he added.
‘Public health agencies that manage different vaccination campaigns have different options at their disposal and can use them as they see fit,’ the EMA representative said.
What’s next with AstraZeneki?
In mid-March, EMA announced that AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. The director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Emer Cooke, said then that the administration of the preparation was not associated with an increased risk of blood clots.
– It is a safe and effective vaccine. Its benefits in protecting people from COVID-19 outweigh (…) the risks. The vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of a blood clot in people who receive it, said Cooke.
EMA did not identify any problems with the quality or the batch of AstraZeneki. She also announced that she intends to continue investigating reports on the relationship between blood clots and this drug.
The agency also acknowledged that the vaccine «may be associated with very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia, i.e. low levels of platelets (elements in the blood that help clotting), with or without bleeding, including rare cases of blood clots in the bloodstream. blood drainage vessels from the brain (CVST) ».
From Brussels, Łukasz Osiński / PAP
This may interest you:
- What is thrombosis? Doctor about possible connection with AstraZeneki vaccine
- AstraZeneca and the risk of thrombosis. The three most important facts
- UK United Kingdom: Seven people who have been vaccinated with AstraZeneka die from blood clots; BBC: two issues raise suspicions
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