[News] WHO will collect data on the incidence of thrombi by AstraZeneca vaccine outside Europe

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Experts recommend that people who have suffered adverse effects after the first injection should not be given the second.

Vaccine experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) decided on Thursday to collect more data on the incidence of thrombi in people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 outside of Europe.

The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on vaccination has reformulated its precautionary recommendations on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, taking into account data on thrombus cases arising in Europe.

"WHO continues to support the conclusion that the benefits of these vaccines outweigh the risks," the organization stressed in a statement.

On April 7, the SAGE estimated that the relationship between the vaccine and thrombi was plausible but not confirmed, and stressed that the reported cases were "very rare."

Its recommendations have been updated with the help of new data from ongoing vaccination programs. AstraZeneca's vaccine is used in 157 territories, according to an AFP tally.

Most cases of thrombi have been reported in the United Kingdom and the European Union, while in other countries "very few" have been reported, SAGE notes.

Experts recommend that people who have suffered thrombi after the first injection should not be given the second.

"An estimate of risk outside Europe needs to gather more data and analysis," the experts say in their new recommendations.

AstraZeneca's vaccine accounts for the majority of the doses used under the Covax device, which enables countries with fewer resources to obtain vaccines thanks to donor funding.

More than 40.5 million doses of the vaccine have been shipped to 118 territories under Covax to date.

"Countries should take into account their epidemiological situation, individual risks and po[CENSORED]tion level, the availability of other vaccines and other options in order to mitigate risks," says SAGE.

"The benefit-risk ratio is higher in older age groups," he says, specifying that "it is currently unknown whether there is a risk of (thrombosis) with the second dose" of the vaccine.