The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that it was aware of blood clot concerns linked to “a specific batch” of AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine. However, it maintained that to date, no-one has died from any coronavirus vaccine.
The statement comes at a time when several European countries suspended the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine shot as a safety precaution.
Briefing press, spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said in an official statement: “As of 9 March, there have been over 268 million doses of vaccine delivered since the start of the pandemic and based on data reported – that’s data reported to WHO by national governments - no causes of death have been found or been caused by Covid-19 vaccines to date.”
Speaking via videoconference in Geneva, Dr. Harris noted that the WHO’s independent expert global advisory board, SAGE, was currently assessing reports on the AstraZeneca vaccine. The multilateral organization would soon publish the findings for access.
WHO spokesperson stated that blood clotting episodes are common in people “so it’s not clear if this was something that was going to happen”, or whether the vaccine was responsible.
“A causal relationship ….has not been shown”, she said, while maintaining that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.
“The panel had taken the position that the jab should continue to be administered, while an investigation of cases of these thromboembolic events is ongoing”, Dr. Harris added.
Countries that have suspended their vaccination drives, include Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania Norway, Iceland, and Thailand.