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OTTAWA, April 14 (Reuters) - Canada's health ministry said
on Wednesday it would not restrict use of AstraZeneca Plc's
COVID-19 vaccine after a review showed the benefits
outweighed the very rare risk of blood clots.
A separate advisory council had earlier recommended Canada
stop offering the vaccine to people under 55. The panel is now
reviewing that advice, the health ministry said in a statement.
Denmark on Wednesday became the first country to stop using
the vaccine altogether over a potential link to the rare blood
clots. Other nations have imposed limits on its use.
But Health Canada, the federal health ministry, said in a
statement that a review of data from Europe, Britain and
AstraZeneca had not identified specific risk factors.
"Therefore, Health Canada is not restricting the use of the
vaccine in any specific populations at this time ... The
potential risk of these events is very rare, and the benefits of
the vaccine in protecting against COVID-19 outweigh its
potential risks," it said.
Canada on Tuesday said it had recorded its first case of
blood clotting with low platelets after someone received the
AstraZeneca shot. The patient in question, a woman from Quebec,
is recovering. (Graphic on vaccines: https://tmsnrt.rs/3tUM8ta)
COVID-19 cases are surging in Canada with the country
reporting a near-record number of new cases recently. (Graphic
on cases: https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Allison Martell in
Toronto; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
