COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca is safe and effective, confirms European Medicines Agency

AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective, the European Medicines Agency said on Thursday.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) was due to provide an assessment of the safety of Astrazeneca's vaccine against Covid-19 after several countries temporarily suspended use of the jab over fears about side effects.

The EMA's safety committee has been making a detailed evaluation of a small number of cases concerning blood clots occurring in recipients of the vaccine, reports dpa news



agency.

The European nations that has halted the usage of the vaccine are France Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus, Portugal,Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Romania, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, the Netherlands, as well as non-EU countries of Norway and Iceland. Many said they were waiting for guidance from the EMA.

Both the EMA and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended continuing inoculation with AstraZeneca's vaccine until further notice, noting its benefits outweighed the risks of Covid-19.