Experts of the World Health Organization have not found a link between thrombosis and the AstraZeneca vaccination. The benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks, the WHO said in a statement released after a meeting of the International Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety.
The committee’s experts conducted a thorough analysis of the available scientific data on the AstraZeneca vaccine. They confirmed the view that the benefits of the vaccine still outweigh the possible risks.
“The available data do not indicate any overall increase in blood clotting-related diagnoses, such as deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, following the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. These thromboembolism indicators after the use of vaccines correspond to the expected number of diagnoses of these conditions. Both diseases occur naturally and are not uncommon. They also occur as a result of COVID-19 infection,”
the document says.
Experts emphasize that the observed rates of both diseases were less than expected.
“Although very rare and unique thromboembolic events in combination with thrombocytopenia, such as venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), have also been reported after AstraZeneca vaccination in Europe, it is not certain that they were caused by vaccination. The European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance and Risk Assessment Committee reviewed 18 cases of CVST from more than 20 million AstraZeneca vaccinations in Europe. At the moment, the causal relationship between these rare cases has not been established,” the published document emphasizes.
The meeting of the AstraZeneca safety assessment Committee was held from March 16 to 19.
