One of the European drug regulator’s senior officials today claimed there is now a ‘clear’ link between AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine and potentially deadly blood clots.
Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccines at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said that CVST — a brain blockage that can lead to a stroke — was occurring more often than expected in younger people.
But he admitted that the body was still baffled about how the jab may trigger the rare complication.
EMA officials are already probing the link between the vaccine and CVST, which is more common in young women. Watchdog bosses are expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow.
Despite his comments, Mr Cavaleri’s agency has repeatedly insisted AstraZeneca’s jab is safe and the benefits outweigh any risks.
Last week it slapped down Germany for suspending its use in under-60s, arguing there was ‘no evidence’ to support age-based restrictions.
But at the same time, the watchdog paved the way for a potential U-turn, warning that the rate of the complication did appear to be slightly higher than expected in vaccinated under-60s.
Experts across the board say the evidence is now ‘shifting’ and that the jab is likely – in extremely rare cases – to cause the brain blockage.
The UK’s safety watchdog, the MHRA, has so far spotted 30 rare clotting events in 18.1million doses – around one in every 600,000. But the EMA believes it may occur in up to one in every 100,000 under-60s.
Britain’s medical regulator may also impose a German-style ban of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, it emerged last night.
Sources told Channel 4 it could stop under-30s getting the jab – which is the main one being deployed in Britain. But Government insiders told the Daily Telegraph that regulators were unlikely to impose any age-based ban.
Boris Johnson today called on Britons to still get AstraZeneca’s jab while on a visit to one of the firm’s factory in Macclesfield, saying the ‘best thing’ they can do is ‘look at what the MHRA say’. He added: ‘Their advice to people is to keep going out there, get your jab, get your second jab.’
But he glossed over questions about whether the UK could impose a ban on the jab for under-30s.
It comes amid reports that thousands of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are being wasted in France following a ‘wave of panic’ triggered by its suspension.
And it was also claimed today that EU officials are confident they will have enough doses to immunize the majority of their citizens by the end of June. Britain is aiming to have offered a first dose to all adults by the end of July.
AstraZeneca is on track to roll out a new booster vaccine that will tackle coronavirus variants by autumn, the firm said
The risk of dying from Covid-19 is significantly higher than the rate of CSVT blood clots, which haven’t even been definitively linked to the vaccines (Based on fatality estimates from Cambridge University and CSVT occurrences in Germany)
