LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - The UK's medicine regulator
said on Thursday that Britons should keep on getting their
COVID-19 vaccines, including the shot developed by Oxford and
AstraZeneca, after Denmark and some other countries restricted
their use of it.
Denmark is suspending for two weeks the use of AstraZeneca's
vaccine after reports of the formation of blood clots in
some who have been vaccinated, including one death in Denmark,
Danish authorities said.
Norway joined Denmark in halting its roll-out of the shot
after reports of blood clots, while Italy banned a batch of the
vaccine after notifications of some serious adverse effects.
Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory
Agency (MHRA) said it was not confirmed that the reported blood
clot in Denmark was caused by the vaccine, adding that the
Danish suspension was precautionary.
"Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon," said
Phil Bryan, MHRA Vaccines Safety Lead, adding that more than 11
million doses of the vaccine had been administered across the UK
and that reports of blood clots were not greater than would have
occurred naturally.
"We are keeping this issue under close review but available
evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause. People
should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do
so."
Austria earlier in the week halted a batch of the shot, but
the European Medicines Agency said on Wednesday there was no
evidence so far linking AstraZeneca's vaccine to illnesses in
two people who received it in Austria.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
