Germany, France, Italy, and Spain resumed use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, hours after the European Union's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, said a review of the data confirmed that the vaccine is safe and effective. Norway is awaiting further research. The EMA said it found no increased risk of blood clots from AstraZeneca's vaccine, though a warning label will be affixed advising doctors and other medical experts to watch out for a rare form of clotting and bleeding in the brain.
Even if a link emerged between cerebral venous thrombosis and the vaccine, the EMA said, AstraZeneca's shots will prevent much more illness and death than they could cause. Europe is buckling under another wave of COVID-19 infections and deaths, and the World Health Organization says it isn't vaccinating its population quickly enough to slow transmission.
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