The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) subcommittee on safety signals related to AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have released a statement on recent reports of thromboembolic and thrombocytopenic events following vaccination with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The committee notes that as of 17 March 2021 there have more than 120 million cases of COVID-19 infections and more than 2 million deaths worldwide. To date, more than 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered in Europe and more than 27 million doses of the Covishield, the AstraZeneca vaccine by the Serum Institute of India, have been administered in India.
They found that the vaccine continues to have a positive risk/benefit profile and that clotting conditions such as deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism events have not increased following receiving this vaccine. In relation to reports of rare thromboembolic events such as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, they note a causal relationship has not been established (the European Medicines Agency [EMA] have reviewed 18 cases of CVST out of more than 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Europe). The committee recommend that countries continue to monitor the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines and that healthcare workers should be educated in recognising signs and symptoms of adverse events following vaccination and agree with the EMA’s plans to investigate these events further.
Read the full statement below, including links to the EMA statement and the UK MHRA statement