AstraZeneca is an excellent vaccine, says WHO

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The World Health Organization said Friday there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine after some countries temporarily suspended the shots over blood clot fears.</p>
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"AstraZeneca is an excellent vaccine, as are the other vaccines that are being used," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters at a briefing in Geneva.</p>
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Harris said that while a few countries had, as a precaution, suspended the use of a specific batch of AstraZeneca vaccine distributed in Europe, based on reports of blood coagulation disorders, "a causal relationship has not been shown".</p>
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The WHO, which said its vaccines advisory committee was examining the safety data coming in, stressed that no causal link had been established between the vaccine and clotting.</p>
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The UN health agency said that after the injection of more than 260 million coronavirus vaccine doses so far around the world, no deaths had yet been attributed to a Covid-19 jab.</p>
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Denmark, Norway and Austria suspended the use of the AstraZeneca shot as a precaution after isolated reports of recipients developing blood clots. Italy and Austria, meanwhile, have stopped using certain batches of the drug as a precautionary measure.</p>
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Other health authorities around the world have also insisted the vaccine is safe, including the European Medicines Agency.</p>
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The European Medicines Agency (EMA ) said on Thursday that there had been 30 cases of so-called thromboembolic events among five million people who had received the jab in Europe.</p>
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The EU regulator has said the number of such blood clot cases in vaccinated people was no higher than in the general population, according to a BBC report.</p>
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"The vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing," the EU regulator has said. </p>
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In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there was no evidence the vaccine had caused problems, and people should still go and get vaccinated when asked to do so. "Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine have now been administered across the UK," said Phil Bryan of the MHRA.</p>