Authorities: "No Confirmed Link Between AZ Vaccine and Blood Clots"... "No Consideration to Halt Vaccinations"

On the afternoon of the 15th, medical staff are demonstrating the preparation of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine at the COVID-19 vaccination center set up in the auditorium of Seongdong-gu Office in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The quarantine authorities have announced their stance on the recent suspension or temporary halt of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations occurring in Europe. Since no link has been confirmed between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the phenomenon of blood clotting ('thrombosis') inside blood vessels, they are not yet considering stopping vaccinations.

On the 16th, Park Young-jun, head of the Adverse Reaction Investigation Support Team at the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Group, stated during a regular COVID-19 briefing, "As of now, no country has presented evidence confirming a link between (the vaccine and thrombosis)." He further emphasized, "More than 300 million people have been vaccinated, and there have been no confirmed cases of a connection between the AstraZeneca vaccine and thrombosis according to the current official position."

Hong Jung-ik, head of the Vaccination Planning Team at the Promotion Group, also said, "So far, both the WHO and the UK maintain that there are no safety issues with the AstraZeneca vaccine," adding, "We will investigate the scientific evidence regarding vaccine safety issues and review safety concerns through expert advisory panels and vaccination specialist committees."

When asked whether vaccination suspension could occur domestically, Park said that while it is under review, "it could be one of several options to be taken," clarifying that it is merely a subject of consideration. The message sent by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to the press corps after the briefing also stated, "At this stage, we are not considering suspending vaccinations," citing the reason that "there have been no additional findings regarding the evidence of a link between the AZ vaccine and thrombosis-related adverse reactions beyond what was explained on the 12th."

However, the quarantine authorities noted that since discussions are ongoing in Europe on this matter, they are closely monitoring the situation. Park said, "The European Medicines Agency (EMA), a scientific body evaluating vaccine safety in Europe, plans to hold an emergency meeting on the 18th," adding, "We will closely watch the meeting results and carefully review situations in other countries and newly emerging information to determine the direction of follow-up measures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.