SUKL: Benefits of AstraZeneca's Vaccine Continue to Outweigh Its Risks

Bratislava, April 6 (TASR) – The link between rare serious cases of thromboembolic complications and AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria vaccine hasn’t been established but is being intensively investigated, State Institute for the Supervision of Medicines (SUKL) spokeswoman Magdalena Jurkemikova told TASR on Tuesday, adding that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks.

“The state institute monitors reported cases in the European Union (EU) and is in close contact with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as well as national medicine agencies. The link between rare cases of blood clots and Vaxzevria vaccine is still ongoing at the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), in which SUKL has its representatives. The conclusions of the committee will be communicated without delay,” she said.

According to SUKL, the review at the EU level has so far not identified any specific factors that would increase such a risk, either age, gender or previous history of blood clot formation. The institute added that most of the cases reported occurred in women under the age of 55, who, however, also made up the majority of the population inoculated with this vaccine.