The European Union medicine regulator has warned blood clots are a possible side effect of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine. According to reports Wednesday, the European Medicines Agency said it found the vaccine carries the risk of causing “unusual blood clots.”
The agency reported 18 deaths in its review of 84 clotting cases reported in the EU out of around 25 million people who have been vaccinated. Despite the risk, the agency said the benefits of the vaccine outweighs the side effects.
“Our safety committee, the Pharmacovigilance and Risk Assessment Committee of the European Medicines Agency, has confirmed that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19 overall outweigh the risks of side effects,” stated Emer Cooke, the executive director of the agency.
