AstraZeneca vaccine benefits increase with age: EU drug watchdog

The EU's drug watchdog said Friday that a review of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine found its benefits increase with age and still outweigh the risks for adults despite links to blood clots.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) was presenting its findings after the European Commission asked it to look into concerns that prompted several countries to restrict its use to older people.

"It showed that the benefits of vaccination increase with increasing age and infection rates," the Amsterdam-based EMA said in statement.


"The benefits of Vaxzevria outweigh its risks in adults of all age groups; however, very rare cases of blood clots with low blood platelets have occurred following vaccination," it said, using the brand name for AstraZeneca's vaccine.

Public confidence in the AstraZeneca jab has taken a blow since the EMA said on April 7 that a very rare, but often fatal, form of blood clot affecting the brain should be listed as a side effect.

Clots are also being listed as a side effect of the J&J vaccine, which uses the same adenovirus vector technology as AstraZeneca, the EMA said earlier this week.