Nine countries have temporarily halted the use of AstraZeneca vaccines after claims of thrombosis (blood clot) by people who have been vaccinated with the vaccine.
The pharmaceutical company has now called for the evidence of blood clot as it denies that the vaccine is the reason for the clot.
At least thirty patients have revealed they experienced thromboembolism after they were vaccinated with AstraZeneca countering AstraZeneca’s denials.
World Health Organisation (WHO) says it is doing a close and careful review of the situation in order to establish that the clot are linked to the vaccine. It however added that the benefits of taking the vaccine outweigh the side-effects.
The WHO will communicate results of its investigation with the public as soon as they are available.
Dr. Mariangela Simao, the WHO’s Assistant Director-General for access to medicines and health products says the organisation will “probably have a statement on this next week as investigations are completed.”
AstraZeneca said the blood clots found in vaccinated population is a significant reduction from what would be found in the general population.
European Medical Agency, the drug regulator in Europe has backed AstraZeneca saying the vaccine is safe for use.
African countries have been receiving AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility. Some African countries also rejected AstraZeneca vaccines after reviews showed it is less effective on the South African variant of the virus.