AstraZeneca said its vaccine is safe and efficive

AstraZeneca defends its vaccine as Thailand joins countries in halting injections over fear of blood clots. The company insists its coronavirus vaccine is safe and has the backing of UK and EU drug regulators.

Thailand has said it will delay use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after several European countries temporarily suspended the jabs following a small number of reports of blood clots.

Officials have insisted the delay, pending an investigation into the cause of reported side-effects, will not have a big impact on the country’s rollout.

The decision comes despite AstraZeneca which produced the vaccine with Oxford University insisting there is no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis.

The drugs firm said in a statement that the occurrence is in actual fact “significantly lower” in those who have been vaccinated than what would be expected among the general population.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said there is no evidence to suggest the vaccine causes blood clot problems, and that people should still get their coronavirus jab when invited to do so.

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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has also backed the jab’s safety and said there have been only 30 reports of blood clots among close to five million people given the vaccine across Europe.