Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov says no cases of blood clots after COVID-19 vaccination have been recorded in the country.
"Some 62,000 people have been vaccinated as of this morning. A total of 362 cases with side effects have been recorded among all those vaccinated, and only two people have required short-term medical supervision. No blood clots have been registered yet," he told Ukraina 24 TV channel.
He advises the authorities should wait for clinical research findings.
"To date, no country has established or confirmed the link between the vaccination and blood clots. There is relevant research, which, in particular, is being carried out by the European regulator in charge of pharmacovigilance and the WHO [World Health Organization]. There is no confirmation yet. In total, 37 cases of blood clots have been recorded among 17 million vaccinated persons, i.e. one case of blood clots per 460,000-470,000 people," Stepanov said.
"If we talk about the benefits and risks, the benefits of the vaccination far exceed any after-effects and side effects," he added.
Read alsoCOVID-19: Health ministry pledges those wishing will be vaccinated by late 2021Controversy over AstraZeneca vaccine
- The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company has faced a row after the death of several people. They suffered blood clots after being vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine.
- The use of the vaccine was suspended in Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Italy, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Thailand, and South Africa.
- At the same time, earlier the authorities of Germany and France called such actions of other countries unreasonable and urged to continue using the drug.
- In turn, the pharmaceutical company claimed the cases of blood clots are not linked with vaccinations.
- On March 15, 2021, Germany, France, Spain, Cyprus, and Slovenia suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
