AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, blood clots link 'plausible' but unconfirmed, says WHO

The World Health Organisation's (WHO) vaccine experts said on Wednesday, April 7, that a link between AstraZeneca's coronavirus jabs and blood clots is "plausible" but unconfirmed. The experts emphasised the reported events were "very rare".

"Based on current information, a causal relationship between the vaccine and the occurrence of blood clots with low platelets is considered plausible but is not confirmed," the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) said in a statement.

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The statement came after the EU's (European Union) drug regulator, EMA (European Medicines Agency), stated earlier in the day that blood clots must now be listed as a "very rare" side effect of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.

However, the jab's benefits continue to override the risks, it added. The COVID-19 sub-committee of WHO GACVS met on Wednesday to review the recent information from the British, EMA, and other medicines regulators.

Also Read: Oxford-AstraZeneca pauses COVID-19 vaccine trial in children 

The committee, in an interim statement, said the occurrences under review are very rare, with low numbers registered amongst the almost 200 million people who have been administered the AstraZeneca vaccine across the globe, Xinhua news agency reported.

It noted that specialised studies are required to be undertaken to fully fathom the probable link. GACVS added that it will continue to collect and assess further data.

Many European nations have already suspended and halted the rollout of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in the wake of the reported risks.

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