Month: March 2021

Update: EMA concludes that benefits of AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks

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The EMA safety committee held a meeting on 18th March and found that:

  1. the benefits of the vaccine in combating the still widespread threat of COVID-19 (which itself results in clotting problems and may be fatal) continue to outweigh the risk of side effects;
  2. the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of blood clots in those who receive it;
  3. there is no evidence of a problem related to specific batches of the vaccine or to particular manufacturing sites;
  4. however, the vaccine may be associated with very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia, i.e. low levels of blood platelets (elements in the blood that help it to clot) with or without bleeding, including rare cases of clots in the vessels draining blood from the brain (CVST).

The full report of the meeting can be found here.

AstraZeneca vaccine suspended in Europe due to safety concerns

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Several countries across Europe have suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine due to safety concerns. There have been reports of blood clotting and deaths in people who have been administered the vaccine.

In comparison, there seems to be little trouble with the rollout of the vaccine in the UK with scientists there insisting that the jab is safe.

What happens next?

The European Medicines Agency is currently reviewing the issue, along with the Moderna and Pfizer-Biotech vaccines which have also been linked to blood clotting. The EMA executive director, Emer Cooke, said:

There is no indication vaccination has caused these [blood clotting] conditions.

However, like with any form of medicine, we will only find the answers through continuous testing.

Currently, WHO has stated that it is safe to continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine and indications are that the suspensions may not last, particularly in Europe where some countries are experiencing a third wave of infections.

16th March 2021:

WHO is investigating the reports and working closely with the European Medicines Agency.

As soon as review of the data is finalized, we’ll inform the public of any findings.

For the moment, the European Medicines Agency’s position is that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, outweigh the risks of side effects.

WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) is meeting today to review the reports of rare blood coagulation disorders in persons who had received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Source:

On This Day – 14th March

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On This Day, Albert Einstein was born. Born 14 March 1879 in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany, Einstein was a renowned physicist who developed the special and general theory of relativity.

He is, perhaps, one of the most influential scientists of the 20th Century, with his work continuing to have an impact even today (without his breakthroughs, technology such as the computer, television and music players would not have existed).

Einstein was also partial to dropping some notable insight, much of which exists in the form of quotes posted all over the internet.

My personal favourite (and one I need a constant reminder of) is:

If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.

Sources:

Reference

Today In Science

Biography