British regulators have identified 30 cases of rare blood clots after the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, 25 more than the agency previously reported, after millions of doses were administered.
Reports of blood clots in people who have received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are on the rise (file photo). Photo: Roland Magnusson/ 123rf
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said it still believes the benefits of the vaccine in preventing Covid-19 far outweigh any possible risk of blood clots.
On 18 March, the regulator said there had been five cases of a rare brain blood clot among 11 million administered shots.
But it has now updated that to 30.
In Australia, a 44-year-old man was admitted to hospital in Victoria with blood clots, several days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, the ABC reported.
The man was vaccinated on or around 22 March and was recently admitted to Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne with serious thrombosis and a low platelet count.
It is not clear whether the man's clots are related to the vaccine dose he received.
Australia's medical regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, updated its guidance on the AstraZeneca jab last month, saying there had been no proven link between the vaccine and the development of blood clots.
Most of the documented cases were people under the age of 55.
However, the TGA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) continue to back the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
A number of European countries temporarily suspended their use of the vaccine after a small number of people developed blood clots, but most restarted after the EU medicines regulator concluded it was safe and effective.
The New Zealand government has secured enough of the Pfizer vaccine for the entire population and does not plan to use the AstraZeneca vaccine.
- Reuters / ABC / RNZ