Given growing concerns about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine which has been the primary vaccine dose being offered in Jamaica thus far, Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie is seeking to allay fears of the incidence of blood clots in adults who take the jab.

Addressing Thursday’s (April 8) COVID Conversations, Bisasor-McKenzie noted that, while reports of blood clots in patients who had received the AstraZeneca jab began to surface in Europe in mid March, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety confirmed on Wednesday (April 7) that a link between the vaccine and blood clots, though plausible, has not been confirmed.

According to Bisasor-McKenzie, based on what is being seen, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (blood clotting) events, “is an estimate of one in 150,000, in some instances one in 100,000 incidents of these blood clots occurring in persons who would have received the vaccine”.

To point out how rare blood clot incidences have been, Bisasor-McKenzie said that, “in April, in a total vaccinated population of 34 million, 169 cases of deep vein thrombosis and 53 of superficial vein thrombosis have been reported in Europe”.

Of the “approximately 200 million individuals (who) have received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine” there have been only “146 reports of the very rare events of blood clots with low platelets”.

Bisasor-McKenzie went on to note: “In Jamaica… as of April 7, 2021, 47,728 persons were vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, of which there has been no report of the very rare event of blood clots with low platelets.”

As a result, she therefore argued that, “considering that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks” and that both the WHO and the Pan American Health Organization recommend the continued use of AstraZeneca, the Ministry of Health and Wellness will continue its usage to vaccinate the populace.