World Health Organization officials said Monday that they continue to recommend the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite several countries halting its use because of blood-clot concerns.
Speaking during a news briefing, they said the agency is closely monitoring the data, with additional information expected as soon as Tuesday, and has not found a link between clotting and inoculation. They noted that the rate of clots is not higher among those who received the AstraZeneca shot — instead, it is actually less than what would be expected in the general population.
“I think that while we need to continue to be very closely monitoring this, we do not want people to panic,” said World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan. “And we would for the time being recommend countries continue vaccinating with AstraZeneca.”
She and other WHO officials said the benefits of vaccination outweigh the potential risks, noting that the coronavirus has killed millions around the globe. They described the suspension of the AstraZeneca shot’s use, a step taken by countries including Germany and France after recent deaths from blood clots in Europe, as precautionary measures.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it is “routine practice” to investigate adverse outcomes that follow vaccination, adding that the agency’s advisory committee on vaccine safety has been reviewing the data and plans to meet Tuesday.
But, he said, “the greatest threat that most countries face right now is lack of access to vaccines.” He said he receives near-daily calls from political leaders around the world asking when their countries will receive vaccines through COVAX, a WHO-linked global initiative to equitably distribute doses.
“Some of them are frustrated, and I understand why,” he said. “They see some of the world’s richest countries buying enough vaccine to immunize their populations several times over, while their own countries have nothing.”
