Not sure that this reassures the population.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) estimated this Wednesday afternoon that "a possible link with very rare cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets" could be established with the administration of the anti-covid vaccine. 19 AstraZeneca.
The regulator, first in a press release and then at a press conference, indicated above all that the benefit / risk balance of serum remains "positive".
During this online press conference, which focused on "the conclusion of the examination of the alarm signal" launched about this serum in relation to "cases of thrombosis", the executive director of the European regulator, Emer Cooke , accompanied by other officials of the agency, also explained that the EMA had not identified any specific risk factor related to the vaccine.
To justify these "very rare cases of unusual blood clots", the European regulator however suggests that an immune response could be a "plausible" explanation for these clots.
Crisis of confidence in this vaccine
The announcements come as several European countries (but not France) have decided to maintain the suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to reports of blood clots among those vaccinated.
In France, the Anglo-Swedish serum is also shunned by patients who refuse to be vaccinated with it.
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On Tuesday, an EMA official had mentioned the existence of a "link" between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the cases of thrombosis observed after its administration, in an interview with the Italian daily Il Messaggero published on Tuesday.
The regulator's safety committee had to react that it had "not yet reached a conclusion and the examination is currently underway," the Amsterdam-based agency said in a statement.
"We will communicate and organize a press point as soon as the examination is finalized", added the EMA.
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The European Medicines Agency announced on March 18 that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine continued to outweigh the risks and that its use remained safe, after the suspension of injections by several countries.
The EMA had explained, however, that there was a possible link to rare cases of blood clots, and that it would release updated advice at its safety committee meeting this week.
It is now done.
