British regulators said Thursday that people should keep getting AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine following its review of data on patients who suffered from blood clots after getting the shot.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said there's no evidence that the vaccine causes blood clots in veins. A further review of five reports in the U.K. of a rare type of clot in the brain is continuing, but the condition, which can occur naturally, has been reported in less than 1 in a million people vaccinated so far and no causal link has been established, the agency said.
“The MHRA’s advice remains that the benefits of the vaccines against COVID-19 continue to outweigh any risks and that the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so,'' the agency said.
FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2021, file photo, a man receives an injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the mass vaccination program in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. In recent days, countries including Denmark, Ireland and Thailand have temporarily suspended their use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine after reports that some people who got a dose developed blood clots, even though there's no evidence that the shot was responsible. The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization say the data available do not suggest the vaccine caused the clots. Britain and several other countries have stuck with the vaccine. (AP PhotoScott Heppell, File)
Discarded in the safe disposal box are used syringes, that were used to give patient their 1st doses for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Wheatfield surgery in Luton, England, Thursday, March 18, 2021. The world is awaiting the results of an initial European investigation into whether there is any evidence that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine was behind unusual blood clots reported in some recipients of the shot. (AP PhotoAlastair Grant)