“No evidence” to link vaccine to blood clots, say health chiefs
There is “no evidence” to link the coronavirus vaccine to blood clots, Dudley borough’s health chief said today.
Dudley Council’s director of public health Karen Wright was speaking after a small number of European nations halted the rollout of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
She urged people to get the jab when it was offered to them, as it was the best way of controlling the virus and saving lives.
Karen Wright, director of public health for Dudley Council, said:
There is no evidence to suggest that people who have had either of the two vaccines are more likely to develop a blood clot than those who have yet to be immunised.
Blood clots can happen naturally, especially among older or more vulnerable people.
Given the large numbers who are being vaccinated in the borough every month, we would expect the diagnosis of blood clots in several people in the month following their vaccination. But this is a coincidence, rather than there being a direct causal link to the vaccine.
This view has been backed by the European Medicines Agency, which yesterday stated there was no indication that vaccination was causing blood clots.
Moreover, blood clots can commonly develop in people suffering severe Covid-19 infection. Both vaccines are proving very effective in preventing this, and are saving countless lives.
I would very strongly urge people to get vaccine as soon as they are offered it, as it is the best way to control this virus and to save lives.