AstraZeneca welcomes regulators’ findings on vaccine safety

The Anglo-Swedish laboratory AstraZeneca on Thursday welcomed the conclusions of British and European regulators on the safety of its vaccine against the coronavirus.

“The safety of vaccines is paramount and we welcome the decisions of regulators which confirm the benefit of our vaccine in stopping the pandemic,” Ann Taylor, the group’s chief medical officer, said in a statement, stressing her confidence that vaccinations can resume in Europe.

After fears aroused in particular by cases of blood clots, several countries had suspended the use of the laboratory’s vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine was “safe and effective” and was not linked to a higher risk of blood clots.

However, the European regulator has indicated that it is not in a position to “definitively exclude” a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare coagulation disorders.

“AstraZeneca will continue to work closely with health authorities,” the group stressed.

For its part, the British regulator (MHRA) concluded Thursday that there is “no evidence” that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines deployed in the United Kingdom cause blood clots.

The benefits of Covid-19 vaccines continue to outweigh any risks and the public should continue to be vaccinated when asked to do so, recommends the MHRA.