Blood clots should be listed as a "very rare side-effect" of the AstraZeneca vaccine but the benefits of preventing Covid-19 still outweigh the risks of getting the shot, the EU's medicines regulator said on Wednesday.
Safety experts said they had found a possible link after studying 86 reports of unusual blood clots among 25 million people who had taken the vaccine in Europe, including the UK.
Several countries, including Britain, have halted the use of the vaccine for younger people over the blood clot scares, which have mainly occurred in women under 60.
But the European Medicines Agency, which in March declared the vaccine to be safe and effective, said in its closely watched verdict that it could not confirm whether there were "specific risk factors" for blood clots such as age or gender.
"Based on the current available evidence, specific risk factors such as age, gender or previous medical history of clotting disorders have not been able to be confirmed,” said EMA director Emer Cooke.
"Our safety committee has confirmed that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19 overall outweigh the risks of side-effects," Ms Cooke said.
"It is very important that we use the vaccines we have to try and beat this pandemic."
EU safety experts said they had studied 62 cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and 24 cases of splanchnic vein thrombosis, leading to a total of 18 deaths.
The EMA said a "plausible explanation" for the blood clots was an immune response triggered by the vaccine.
In the UK, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said that those under 30 should be given Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead where possible.
"We are advising a preference for one vaccine over another vaccine for a particular age group, really out of the utmost caution, rather than because we have any serious safety concerns," said Wei Shen Lim, the JCVI's Covid-19 chairman.
The success of the UK's vaccine programme is crucial to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ambition to lift all legal restrictions on social contact on June 21.
The UK has ordered 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 40 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech.
The rulings on Wednesday come after a senior EMA official said this week that there was a "clear" connection between the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine and clots.
Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands are among countries that are not recommending the shot for younger people, although the World Health Organisation also insists the benefits of the jab largely outweigh the risks.
AstraZeneca has said previously that its studies have found no higher risk of blood clots in those vaccinated than in the general population.
The controversy has marred a global vaccination programme that governments hope will help countries emerge from a pandemic that has ravaged economies and subjected much of humanity to some form of confinement.
Dr Peter English, who formerly chaired the British Medical Association’s Public Health Medicine Committee, said the back-and-forth over the AstraZeneca vaccine globally could have serious consequences.
“We can’t afford not to use this vaccine if we are going to end the pandemic,” he said.
The ruling on the vaccine comes as countries from Germany to Ukraine and India face new waves of infections and deaths from the virus that has now killed more than 2.8 million globally.
Governments are scrambling to secure much-needed vaccine doses, with Australia the latest nation to complain of shortages that it blamed on EU export controls.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
CABINET%20OF%20CURIOSITIES%20EPISODE%201%3A%20LOT%2036
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
