04-07-2021, 01:29 PM
EMA Contradicts Senior Official’s Claim of ‘Clear Link’ Between AstraZeneca Vaccine and Blood Clots
A senior official from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was quoted earlier today as saying there is a “clear” link between the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine and a rare blood clotting syndrome — but hours later the EMA denied having already established a causal connection between the vaccine and blood clots.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse, the EMA said today it had “not yet reached a conclusion and the review is currently ongoing,” adding it expected to announce its findings on Wednesday or Thursday. Marco Cavaleri, the EMA’s head of vaccines, had earlier told Italy’s Il Messaggero newspaper that in his opinion, “it is clear there is a link with the vaccine, but we still do not know what causes this reaction.”
Cavaleri said among younger vaccinated people there was a higher-than-expected number of cases of cerebral thrombosis — blood clotting in the brain — compared with the general population.
He added the EMA would issue an updated recommendation on the shot Wednesday and would officially announce a connection “in the next few hours,” but would not likely be in a position this week to give an indication regarding the age of individuals to whom the AstraZeneca shot should be given.
Read More: EMA Contradicts Senior Official’s Claim of ‘Clear Link’ Between AstraZeneca Vaccine and Blood Clots
A senior official from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was quoted earlier today as saying there is a “clear” link between the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine and a rare blood clotting syndrome — but hours later the EMA denied having already established a causal connection between the vaccine and blood clots.
In a statement to Agence France-Presse, the EMA said today it had “not yet reached a conclusion and the review is currently ongoing,” adding it expected to announce its findings on Wednesday or Thursday. Marco Cavaleri, the EMA’s head of vaccines, had earlier told Italy’s Il Messaggero newspaper that in his opinion, “it is clear there is a link with the vaccine, but we still do not know what causes this reaction.”
Cavaleri said among younger vaccinated people there was a higher-than-expected number of cases of cerebral thrombosis — blood clotting in the brain — compared with the general population.
He added the EMA would issue an updated recommendation on the shot Wednesday and would officially announce a connection “in the next few hours,” but would not likely be in a position this week to give an indication regarding the age of individuals to whom the AstraZeneca shot should be given.
Read More: EMA Contradicts Senior Official’s Claim of ‘Clear Link’ Between AstraZeneca Vaccine and Blood Clots