PARIS (Reuters) – The French drug regulator ANSM said on Friday it agreed with the European Medicines Agency’s advice that AstraZeneca’s coronavirus shot should continue to be used in vaccination campaigns.
Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Bulgaria have suspended the use of the shot following reports of blood clots in some people who had been vaccinated.
EMA has said the number of clots is no higher than in the general population, and AstraZeneca said on Thursday it had found no evidence of increased risk of deep-vein thrombosis.
ANSM said only one case of blood clotting had been found in France after an AstraZeneca shot, and there was no indication that it was linked to the vaccine.
“The benefit/risk ratio of the vaccine remains positive”, ANSM said on its website.
The agency said it was evaluating the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines available in France and actively monitoring their side-effects.
(Reporting by Jean-Stephane Brosse, Geert De Clercq and Matthieu Protard; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
