Today: Thursday, 25 April 2024 year

UK: AstraZeneca vaccine trial in kids paused as clot link probed

UK: AstraZeneca vaccine trial in kids paused as clot link probed

The United Kingdom trial of the AstraZeneca covid vaccine on kids has been paused, according to the Oxford University statement.

Following the global regulators rush to assess its possible link to rare blood clots in adults, Oxford University made a hard decision to pause the trial of the anti-covid drug on children. Despite there were “no safety concerns” in the trial, but acknowledged fears over a potential link to clots by saying that it was awaiting additional data from Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before restarting the study.

“Parents and children should continue to attend all scheduled visits and can contact the trial sites if they have any questions,” it reads.

This week, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced it “has not yet reached a conclusion and the review is currently ongoing, The Japan Times reports. The statement came after the EMA’s head of vaccine strategy Marco Cavaleri was quoted in Italian media as saying that there was a “clear” connection and that the agency would announce it within hours.

“In my opinion, we can say it now, it is clear there is a link with the vaccine,” Cavaleri told Il Messaggero newspaper in an interview. “But we still do not know what causes this reaction.”