South Korean Expert Panel Recommends Continuing Use Of AstraZeneca Vaccine

Choi Eun-hwa, the head of a South Korean independent panel of experts, recommended continuing the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout due to the absence of any connection between thromboembolism cases and the vaccine, as the local media reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2021) Choi Eun-hwa, the head of a South Korean independent panel of experts, recommended continuing the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout due to the absence of any connection between thromboembolism cases and the vaccine, as the local media reports.

On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU drug watchdog, announced that it found no correlation between AstraZeneca vaccine administration and blood clots in people inoculated against COVID-19. The research was carried out following a decision of a number of European countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland and Norway, to suspend the use of the vaccine after reports on isolated cases of blood clotting in vaccinated people.

"The AstraZeneca vaccine is effective and safe as it reduces the possibility of COVID-19 patients falling into a critical condition and the fatality rate," Choi said, as quoted by Yonhap news Agency.

The group head also said that the benefit of inoculation outweighs the risk of getting any negative side effects. He also added that there is no reason for studying connections between rare cases of side effects after being inoculated and the vaccine.

South Korea began its vaccination campaign on February 26, and has already inoculated some 1.3 percent of the population. AstraZeneca's vaccine has been given to almost 620,100 people, while over 57,000 have received that of Pfizer.