Seven people who received the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine have died of blood clots in the UK, out of a total of 30 cases identified so far, the UK Medicines Agency (MHRA) said on Saturday.
Of the 30 cases recorded up to and including March 24, “unfortunately seven have died,” the MHRA said in a statement.
The regulator said it had received, on that date, reports of 22 cases of cerebral venous thrombosis and eight other cases of thrombosis associated with a deficiency of platelets, out of a total of 18.1 million doses administered.
"Our in-depth review of these reports continues," said MHRA director June Raine, noting that no similar cases have been reported for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
"The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine for preventing Covid-19 infection and its complications continue to far outweigh the risks and the public should continue to receive the vaccine when prompted to do so," she added. .
Suspended for certain categories in Europe
By publishing Thursday an opinion on the side effects of the vaccines administered in the country, the MHRA had indicated that "the risk of having this type of blood clots is very low".
More generally, "the number and nature of the side effects reported so far is not unusual compared to other types of vaccines in common use," she said.
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The story of a doubt
The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, is the subject of suspicion in several countries after serious cases of blood clots, some have decided not to administer this vaccine below a certain age.
The Netherlands announced Friday temporarily suspending injections of this product for those under 60, following a similar decision taken Tuesday in Germany.
They followed suit in Canada and France (55), Sweden and Finland (65).
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In mid-March, the European drug gendarme (EMA) had judged that the AstraZeneca vaccine was "safe and effective" and that it was "not associated" with a higher risk of thrombosis.
He said on Wednesday that he had not found any specific risk factors such as age, sex or medical history.
The most bereaved country in Europe with nearly 127,000 dead, the United Kingdom has deployed one of the most advanced Covid-19 vaccination campaigns in the world, with more than 31.3 million first doses and nearly five million second doses already administered since the beginning of December.