The Hague
The European Union drug regulator on Tuesday backed the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it was “firmly convinced” that benefits outweigh potential risks, and debunked the claims that the vaccine was leading to blood clots.
The suspensions have provoked intense debate over whether it was prudent to put AstraZeneca inoculations on hold just as vaccination campaigns were beginning to gather pace.
Experts at both the World Health Organisation and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) met Tuesday to discuss the vaccine, with the European organisation expected to publish conclusions Thursday.
While millions of doses of the vaccine developed with Oxford University have been administered, small numbers of people have developed blood clots, prompting countries including the EU’s three largest nations — Germany, France and Italy — to suspend injections.
The EMA insisted that countries should continue using the vaccine. “We are still firmly convinced that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19 with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death outweigh the risk of these side effects.—AP
