Netherlands to decide on AstraZeneca Covid vaccine restart tomorrow
NL TimesThe Dutch Health Council will give the government new advice about the temporary suspension of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday. The European Medicines Agency has reviewed 86 blood clot cases and said there was a possible link between the vaccine and some rare blood clot cases, but it said the vaccine should remain in use. "One plausible explanation for the combination of blood clots and low blood platelets is an immune response, leading to a condition similar to one seen sometimes in patients treated with heparin," the agency said in a statement. "Covid-19 is a very serious disease with high hospitalization and death rates and every day Covid is still causing thousands of deaths across the EU," said Emer Cooke. When weighing all scenarios, the EMA's safety committee "has confirmed that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19 overall outweigh the risks of side effects," Cooke stated.