Following the suspension of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine by several European countries this week, owing to reports of rare types of blood clots emerging among the vaccinated, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that vaccinations continue.
While the European Union suspensions have been temporary, with nations such as Germany and France saying they wanted to wait for the opinion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) before resuming use, it has created a mixed approach to vaccination as other nations in the EU have continued as normal with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“The WHO COVID-19 Subcommittee of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is carefully assessing the latest available safety data for the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the WHO said in a statement. “Once that review is completed, WHO will immediately communicate the findings to the public. At this time, WHO considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends that vaccinations continue.”
In a news conference, EMA executive director Emer Cooke said that the vaccine was safe and effective and that the agency’s expert committee found no link between the vaccine and an increase in the overall risk of thrombotic events or blood clots.
“Our scientific position is that this vaccine is a safe and effective option to protect citizens against COVID-19,” Cooke said.
No link did not mean the concept was ruled out entirely, though, and Cooke added that the committee has recommended raising awareness of potential risks while pursuing additional investigations.
As many as 13 European countries had suspended the use of the vaccine. At the heart of the issue were blood clots that had emerged in a small number of patients from among the millions who had been issued the shot. For its part, WHO reminded these countries that vaccinating for COVID-19 does not reduce illness or deaths from other causes and that blood clots are known to occur frequently.
Venous thromboembolism, a condition wherein blood clots form and travel through circulation to lodge in the lungs, are the third most common cardiovascular disease globally, the organization pointed out. It added that vaccination campaigns routinely cause countries to become aware of potential adverse effects following immunization — but that those events were not necessarily linked to the vaccination itself.
Still, it added that investigations like this are good practice overall. At the least, WHO noted, it means that the health surveillance system is effective.