The European Union agency responsible for testing the safety of medications has determined that there’s no definitive link between the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and a rare type of blood clot that has impacted a handful of people who got that inoculation, the Associated Press reports.
The European Medicines Agency recommended including a warning on literature about the vaccine warning medical professionals and consumers about the potential connection, because the head of the EMA, as Emer Cooke said Thursday, the agency “cannot rule out definitively a link.”
Overall, however, “Our scientific position is that is that this vaccine is a safe and effective option to protect citizens against COVID-19. It demonstrated that at least 60% efficacy in clinical trials and preventing coronavirus disease. And in fact, the real-world evidence suggests that the effectiveness could be even higher than that,” Cooke added.
The statement clears the way for countries which suspended the use of the vaccine–including Germany, Spain, Norway, Iceland and Ireland–to restart distribution of doses of the vaccine.
At least four people had developed potentially-deadly blood clots, which can detach and travel to the heart, lungs and brain and cause significant medical emergencies, up to and including death.