By Several European countries halt AstraZeneca vaccine due to risk of blood clots
Several countries in Europe have halted the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine after a number of people suffered with blood clots after receiving the jab.
Around 17 million people, both in the EU and UK, have received a dose of the vaccine, with fewer than 40 cases of blood clots reported as of last week, according to AstraZeneca.
Suspicions that a link exists between the vaccine and blood clots prompted several countries to suspend using the vaccine, including Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Slovenia and Germany.
A review from Norway’s medicine agency showed four cases of “serious blood clotting in adults” after they received the vaccine. It has also been confirmed that one person in Austria died 10 days after being vaccinated as a result of a blockage in the lungs.
However, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine will continue to give out the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots.
Regulators in the UK have made it clear that the vaccinations should continue, claiming that the chance of having a blood clot after receiving the vaccination is extremely low.
A statement issued by them reads: “Events involving blood clots, some with unusual features such as low numbers of platelets, have occurred in a very small number of people who received the vaccine.
“Many thousands of people develop blood clots annually in the EU for different reasons. The number of thromboembolic events overall in vaccinated people seems not to be higher than that seen in the general population.”
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