The World Health Organization said AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine should continue to be administered as the benefits outweigh its risks.
A WHO expert group is assessing the latest safety data and will communicate the findings once the review is completed, the organization said in a statement Wednesday.
Reports of blood clots in some people who received AstraZeneca’s shots led to several European Union member states pausing the use of the vaccine, risking another slowdown in the region’s inoculation campaign. The European Medicines Agency is expected to provide a definitive assessment on Thursday. Italy and France have indicated they would lift suspensions if the shot is deemed safe by the regulator.
Thromboembolic events are known to occur frequently, and venous thromboembolism is the third-most common cardiovascular disease globally, the WHO said.
On Monday, WHO officials said preliminary data don’t show an association between the vaccine and blood clots.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, one of four that’s been cleared for emergency use in the EU, has been the subject of controversy on multiple levels, with supply shortfalls prompting the bloc to impose export controls even as many doses go unused amid the growing safety concerns.
“No drug or vaccine could ever be 100 per cent safe,” Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s chief scientist, said on Monday. “You could have something that happens one in a million. But then you need to look at what’s the benefit of protecting people against a disease that’s killing millions against the potential risks.”
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