'No Evidence' AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Causes Blood Clots: Report

AstraZeneca said it found no evidence of a link between its COVID-19 vaccine and an increased risk of blood clots.

After several countries temporarily suspended the use of the pharmaceutical company's coronavirus vaccine, AstraZeneca conducted a review of safety data of more than 17 million people who received its vaccine across the U.K. and the European Union.

“A careful review of all available safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and the UK with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country,” AstraZeneca said Sunday in a statement obtained by Reuters.

Nations such as Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Ireland recently halted the use of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford following reports of vaccinated people developing blood clots.

Austria also ordered the suspension of the vaccine last week while investigating one death from coagulation disorders.

Peter English, a retired British government consultant in communicable disease control, expressed disapproval for the countries' decision to stop vaccinations.

“It is most regrettable that countries have stopped vaccination on such ‘precautionary’ grounds: it risks doing real harm to the goal of vaccinating enough people to slow the spread of the virus, and to end the pandemic,” English told Reuters.

Backing AstraZeneca's claim, European Medicines Agency also reported that there is no indication that the pharmaceutical company's COVID-19 vaccine is linked to clots. The World Health Organization echoed the agency's statement.

On top of the review, AstraZeneca added that it is also conducting additional testing together with European health authorities, and none of the re-tests so far have shown any cause for concern, the company reveals. The monthly safety report is set to be posted in the coming week on the EMA website, AstraZeneca states.

Ireland is the latest country to suspend its use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, CNBC reported. On Sunday, the Irish government announced that it has opted to stop using the said COVID-19 vaccine "out of an abundance of caution" after hearing reports from Norway about recipients developing blood clots after getting their shots.

Norwegian health authorities said Saturday that three health workers in Norway were hospitalized for bleeding, blood clots and a low count of blood platelets after receiving their doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, per Reuters.