Vaccinations against COVID-19 with AstraZeneca will resume in Cyprus, as of Friday, after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) provided a scientific opinion, saying that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of blood clots in those who receive it, the Health Ministry announced.
Citizens who arranged an appointment to receive the jab are therefore called to present themselves at the Vaccination Center they booked, on scheduled time.
The Ministry also says that inoculation appointments that were postponed between March 16-18 will be rescheduled and more information will be provided during a press conference, on Friday.
EMA’s safety committee, PRAC, concluded on Friday its preliminary review of a signal of blood clots in people vaccinated with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, during an extraordinary meeting and confirmed that the benefits of the vaccine in combating the still widespread threat of COVID-19 continue to outweigh the risk of side effects. It also noted that there is no evidence of a problem related to specific batches of the vaccine or to particular manufacturing sites.
According to EMA, around 20 million people in the UK and EEA had received the vaccine as of March 16 and EMA had reviewed only 7 cases of blood clots in multiple blood vessels (disseminated intravascular coagulation, DIC) and 18 cases of CVST. A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possible and deserves further analysis, it is noted.
