NITI Aayog member VK Paul on Wednesday said there is "no signal of concern" over blood clot fears allegedly caused due to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.
"There are reports on AstraZeneca's vaccine relationship with thrombotic events in people who received the vaccine. 10 countries have paused AstraZeneca's vaccine program. The European medical agency says, 'It's a precautionary measure & there's no data, assessment being done'," said Paul. "India's group that looks at adverse effects is aware of the issue and are tracking the information available. I assure you that we have no signal of concern in this regard," he added.
This comes after several European countries including, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, etc. suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine over blood clot concerns.
However, EU regulators on Tuesday rubbished the blood clot fears which have constrained the European countries to turn their back on the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying there is no evidence the vaccine causes dangerous side-effects. The European Medicines Agency said it was "firmly convinced" that the AstraZeneca shot should continue.
Besides, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also said that there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.
"AstraZeneca is an excellent vaccine, as are the other vaccines that are being used," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters at a briefing in Geneva. "We've reviewed the data on deaths. There has been no death, to date, proven to have been caused by vaccination," she said.
"Yes, we should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine," she added, stressing though that "any safety signal must be investigated." "We must always ensure that we look for any safety signals when we roll out vaccines, and we must review them," she said. "But there is no indication to not use it," she further said.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also defended AstraZeneca's vaccine. "That vaccine is safe and works extremely well," Johnson said. "It is being made in multiple places from India to the US, as well as Britain, and it is being used around the world," he added.
