EMA May Issue Updated Recommendation If AstraZeneca Jab-Clot Link Is Established: Report

The European Medical Agency (EMA) said there could be a possible link between AstraZeneca’s Plc AZN COVID-19 vaccine and a rare type of blood clot, identifying 62 cases of the condition while insisted the shot’s benefits still outweigh its risks.

What Happened: According to CNBC, the EMA said its safety committee would probably issue an updated recommendation next week.

If a connection between the clots and Astra’s vaccine is established, the EMA will change its recommendations, Executive Director Emer Cooke said.

For now, there’s no evidence to support restricting the use of the vaccine in any population of people.

A review identified 246 such reactions in Britain, out of 269 instances in a dozen countries, including about 40 deaths.

The EMA report said it “hasn’t identified any specific risk factors, such as age, gender or a previous medical history of clotting disorders,” for the cases that have occurred after vaccination.

Separately, Germany has suspended the use of AZN shot in people under-60 years of age, reported CNBC.

The move comes after 31 cases of a rare type of blood clot in people after the inoculation. The cases primarily involved women aged 20 to 63 years, while the two men affected were 36 and 57 years old.

66-year old Angela Merkel said that she would also be willing to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine “when it is my turn,” Deutsche Welle reported.

Additionally, European Union is expected to receive 107 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines by the end of March, an E.U. Commission spokeswoman said, meeting the earlier target but far below initial plans, reports Reuters.

Why It Matters: Under contracts, the bloc had expected to receive 120 million doses by the end of March from AstraZeneca alone and additional doses from Pfizer Inc PFE - BioNTech SE BNTX and Moderna Inc MRNA.

But after cuts from AstraZeneca, the E.U. had revised its target until the end of March to about 100 million doses.

The Commission spokeswoman told a news conference that AstraZeneca was expected to deliver 29.8 million doses by Wednesday, in line with its revised target.

Pfizer-BioNTech will deliver 67.5 million doses and Moderna nearly 10 million, figures that the E.U. has said are in line with their initial commitments.

Price Action: AZN shares are trading up 0.22% at $50.08 in market trading hours on the last check Wednesday.