The European Medicines Agency issued new advice for the Oxford jab after reports of number of people developing blood clots after receiving it. Experts from the bloc’s drugs watchdog said the threat of hospitalisation and death from coronavirus poses a greater risk than the immunisation itself. The EMA said: “COVID-19 is associated with a risk of hospitalisation and death. The reported combination of blood clots and low blood platelets is very rare, and the overall benefits of the vaccine in preventing COVID-19 outweigh the risks of side effects.”
After a lengthy review of the Oxford jab, its safety committee concluded that “unusual blood clots” should be listed as a “very rare” side effect.
The panel found 86 six cases of thrombosis events, as of March 22, of which 18 were fatal, out of 25 million people that had received the vaccine across the EU and UK.
