EU Waiting for EMA Conclusions on AstraZeneca's Link to Blood Clotting

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The European Commission is still waiting for the EU drug regulator to share its findings on a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare cases of blood clots, a spokesman for health said Tuesday.

"This link is currently being investigated by the EMA. Some follow-up was done last week. This week, there is going to be a meeting of the PRAC [drug safety] committee… We hope to hear from the EMA about this possible connection at some point," Stefan De Keersmaecker told reporters.

Marco Cavaleri, a senior official at the European Medicines Agency told an Italian newspaper, Il Messaggero, that there was clearly a link between the COVID-19 vaccine and blood clotting in the brain of younger patients.

Cavaleri said he understood that the EMA investigation into AstraZeneca was focused on the cerebral thromboses in patients with a low count of platelets. He said these cases occurred more often than expected when compared to the general population.

Several countries have restricted the use of AstraZeneca in people under the age of 60, pending EMA’s conclusions. EMA did not rule out a "casual link" between the cases of clots forming in the brain and the vaccine but said the benefits outweighed the risks.