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Photo: Matthias Bein / dpa-Zentralbild
Despite very rare cases of brain thrombosis, the EU Medicines Agency Ema recommends the use of Astrazeneca's corona vaccine without restriction.
The benefits of the active ingredient should be rated higher than the risks, said the Ema on Wednesday in Amsterdam.
On Tuesday, Ema had already confirmed that it sees a causal connection between the AstraZeneca corona vaccine and the very rare blood clots.
These are so-called sinus vein thromboses, i.e. blood clots in the cerebral veins.
A small percentage of those vaccinated had developed such a sinus vein thrombosis between 4 and 16 days after vaccination.
"We can now say that it is clear that there is a connection with the vaccine," said the chief strategist of the Ema vaccination department, Marco Cavaleri, in an interview with the Italian newspaper "Il Messaggero".
So far, the Ema had repeatedly recommended the vaccine developed by Oxford University and the British-Swedish company as safe and effective and stressed that the benefits of the vaccine clearly outweigh any possible negative consequences.
A causal connection between the vaccination and the blood clots is "possible", but there is no evidence for this.
The British-Swedish manufacturer also emphasizes this.
When searching for the cause of the blood clots, researchers from the University of Greifswald found special antibodies in the blood of those affected, which are directed against the body's own blood platelets.
The platelets are central to hemostasis and coagulation.
The antibodies found could cause the platelets in the blood to clump together and form blood clots.
Like many other European countries, Germany had restricted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine primarily to people aged 60 and over, as recommended by the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko).
The reason: The current information on vaccination with Vaxzevria and the rare cases of sinus vein thrombosis shows that younger women are particularly affected.
By March 29, 31 cases of sinus vein thrombosis after vaccination with the Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca had been reported to the Paul Ehrlich Institute as part of the spontaneous recording.
In 19 cases, thrombocytopenia was also reported, a threatening reduction in blood platelets.
The outcome was fatal in nine cases.
With the exception of two cases, all reports concerned women between the ages of 20 and 63; the two men were 36 and 57 years old.
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