UK leaders and medical experts have defended the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine despite multiple European countries pausing its use due to concerns over possible adverse side effects.
Boris Johnson said there was ‘no reason at all’ to stop the vaccine’s rollout and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would accept her jab ‘without hesitation’ when called on.
Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride also urged people to retain confidence in the jab as he received his first dose of the AstraZeneca version on Monday.
It comes as Germany, France, Spain and Italy paused injections of the vaccine amid concerns about blood clots in people who have had the shot, although the European Union’s medical regulator insisted its benefits outweighed the risk of side effects.
The Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Iceland and Thailand have already temporarily suspended their use of the jab.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said ‘many thousands of people’ develop blood clots every year in the EU and ‘the number of thromboembolic events overall in vaccinated people seems not to be higher than that seen in the general population’.
The EMA’s safety committee is reviewing the data and working closely with the company, experts in blood disorders, and authorities including the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The committee will further review the information on Tuesday ahead of an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to consider any further action that may be needed.
We are closely reviewing reports but the evidence available does not suggest that the blood clots were caused by COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.
People should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so.
Read our full statement here: https://t.co/7BxCeCLgDR pic.twitter.com/4SYrtOuOOC
— MHRAgovuk (@MHRAgovuk) March 15, 2021
