New Delhi: As India is in a vaccination overdrive following the breakout of the second wave of coronavirus, there have been many reports which draw a connection between AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine and a rare blood clotting condition.
The government panel of experts is conducting a domestic investigation on the cases of blood clotting, even mild ones, which may be a possible side effect of the two Covid-19 vaccines Covishield and Covaxin, that are being administered in India.
AstraZeneca's covid-19 vaccines Covsshield is manufactured by the Serum Institute and Covaxin is manufactured by Bharat Biotech in India and is being widely administered across the country.
The European Medicines Agency in their recent study has found a possible link between AstraZeneca's covid-19 vaccines and a rare blood clotting disorder. This has become the cause of growing concerns amongst the tens of millions who have at least received one dose of the vaccines.
The blood clotting disorder is known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) which is a specific and rare kind of blood clotting in the areas of the brain and in few cases, in the abdomen. Europe has recorded 222 such cases of CVST amongst the 34 million people who have been administered the vaccine until April 4th. This condition has resulted in the deaths of 18 people as of March 22.
Following the reports from the various European Medical Agencies, many countries like South Korea, the Philippines, and the Netherlands have suspended the use of AstraZeneca's covid-19 vaccines to people under 60 years of age. Countries like Canada, France and Spain, and Italy set up a minimum age for the administration of the virus. Australia suggested the people under 50 get Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine instead of AstraZeneca's.
Although the European Medicines Agency found a possible link between AstraZeneca's covid-19 vaccines and the blood clotting disorder, they also emphasized that the vaccine's advantages outweighed the risks. The vaccine is largely considered to be safe and 79% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and very beneficial for the treatment of critical hospitalized patients. As compared to the other vaccines, it is cheaper and easy to store.