AstraZeneca vaccine linked to rare blood clots, EU regulators conclude

Enlarge / Vials of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are seen during the opening of a vaccination center in Cyprus on March 22, 2021. (credit: Getty | Etienne Torbey)

European medical regulators on Wednesday concluded that there is a strong link between AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and life-threatening conditions involving the unusual combination of blood clots and low levels of blood platelets.

As such, the conditions should be listed as a “very rare side effects” of the vaccine, according to the European Medicines Agency, a regulatory agency of the European Union.

The conclusion was based on the EMA’s in-depth review of 86 blood-clotting events among around 25 million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe and the UK. Of the 86 blood-clotting events, 18 people died. Most—but not all—of the cases occurred in women under the age of 60.