AstraZeneca Vaccine Administration Continues... Vaccination Expert Committee Meeting on the 20th (Comprehensive)

On the afternoon of the 15th, medical staff demonstrated the preparation process 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 Seo So-jeong] The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Director Jeong Eun-kyung) announced that it will continue administering the AstraZeneca vaccine as originally planned.

However, since the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has indicated that additional review is needed regarding some blood clotting disorders, a Vaccination Expert Committee meeting will be held on the 20th to closely examine domestic and international cases.

The Promotion Team (Director Jeong Eun-kyung) stated on the 19th, "Today, the EMA announced the evaluation results from the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) that there is no causal relationship between the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and thrombotic symptoms," adding, "We will proceed with COVID-19 vaccinations as originally planned."

The EMA announced that vaccination is not associated with an overall increased risk of thrombosis and that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of side effects. However, due to reports of very rare blood clotting disorders, further review is deemed necessary.

The Promotion Team said, "We will conduct a more thorough investigation into the safety of vaccinations and domestic and international cases, hold a Vaccination Expert Committee meeting on the 20th to review related information with experts, including recent evaluations by the World Health Organization (WHO) and EMA, and announce the results on the 22nd."

The Vaccination Expert Committee meeting will be held privately at 3 p.m. on the 20th, and the results will be announced at the regular briefing at 2:10 p.m. on the 22nd.

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