AstraZeneca vaccine has tremendous potential to prevent COVID-19 infections, reduce deaths: WHO

AstraZeneca vaccine or Covishield is one of the two Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use in India. Several countries have suspended its use after reports of blood clots among vaccinated people.

Several countries have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine after reports of blood clots among vaccinated people came to light. However, the company had refuted the reports saying that there's no evidence of increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or thrombocytopenia from its jab. It reassured on the safety and efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine, citing the results of their phase III clinical trials that included 60,000 participants and review of data of millions of people vaccinated in the European Union (EU) and UK with its vaccine. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had also said clarified that the risk of blood clots in those vaccinated against COVID-19 was "no higher than that seen in the general population." The World Health Organisation (WHO) too had been refuting any link between the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine and blood clots.

In a statement released on Friday, the WHO said that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (which is produced in India as Covishield by Pune-based Serum Institute) has tremendous potential to prevent coronavirus infections and reduce deaths across the world. Also, the review team found no increased risk of blood clotting conditions in people who received the vaccine, it added.

Blood clots are not uncommon, may occur as a result of COVID-19

The WHO's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) Covid-19 subcommittee met virtually on March 16 and 19 to review available data on thromboembolic events (blood clots) and thrombocytopenia (low platelets) after vaccination with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The subcommittee also reviewed clinical trial data from Europe, the UK, India, and Vigibase, the WHO global database of individual case safety reports.

Based on the review results, WHO concluded that there is no increase in clotting conditions such as deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism following administration of Covid-19 vaccines. Further it said that the reported rates of thromboembolic events after Covid-19 vaccines are not more than the expected number of diagnoses of these conditions, which occur naturally and are not uncommon. Blood clots may also occur as a result of Covid-19, WHO said.

The organisation added that the sub-committee will continue to review the safety data from all Covid-19 vaccines and update any advice as necessary.

Covishield vaccine or the AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the two Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use in India. So far, over 27 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the country.