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A health worker prepares a dose of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Antwerp, Belgium, on March 18, 2021. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

A clear link exists between the AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccine and cases of blood clots, a senior official with the European Medicines Agency said.

In mid-March, the agency said there was “no connection” between the vaccine and the clotting cases.

The AFP reported Tuesday a quote by EMA vaccine strategy head Marco Cavaleri in an interview with Italy’s Il Messaggero newspaper.

“In my opinion, we can say it now, it is clear there is a link with the vaccine,” Cavaleri was quoted as saying.

“In the next few hours, we will say that there is a connection, but we still have to understand how this happens,” he also reportedly said. His remarks indicated certainty that a connection exists, even if it is not understood how the vaccine leads to the clots.

The remarks are expected to have some impact, as they represent acknowledgment of a “link” between the vaccine and clots by a senior official with the agency in charge of vaccine assessment and approval for the European Union (EU).

After an independent review in response to moves by several countries to suspend AZ vaccine administration over concerns about clotting side effects, the EMA said on March 18 that the vaccine was “not associated with an increase in the overall risk of blood clots.”

But the agency did say that the vaccine “may be associated with very rare cases of blood clots associated with thrombocytopenia, i.e. low levels of blood platelets” — leaving open the possibility of a connection between the vaccine and clots.

The UK, which has been actively defending the AZ vaccine, was reported to have begun considering a plan for restricting its administration in cases of people aged 30 and under.

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

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