EMA says vaccine is safe and effective

The European Medicines Agency said it cannot definitively rule out a connection between the Astra Zenica vaccine and a risk clotting, but has also said it is safe and effective.

"The committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion: this is a safe and effective vaccine," European Medicines Agency chief Emer Cooke said today.

"The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots."

Ms Cooke said they would continue to study possible links between rare blood clot events and the vaccine and will keep track of all possible side effects.

The EMA said no quality or batch issue had been found with the vaccine.

The vaccine was suspended by 13 member states - including Ireland - due to concerns about a possible link to blood clots in a small number of recipients after a number of deaths related to clotting.

The regulator and the World Health Organization have already said the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh any potential risk.

The EMA stepped in after 30 cases of unusual blood disorders were reported, out of a population of five million people who had received the vaccine.