Amid growing concerns over AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine's safety, a local group of pediatricians said there was no scientific evidence to prove causality between blood clots and Covid-19 vaccines. Therefore, the nation should keep vaccinating its population against the pandemic, they said.
The pediatricians also urged the government to disclose the cause of deaths and adverse reactions after the vaccination transparently.
The Korean Pediatric Society issued a statement on Thursday, saying that the benefits of Covid-19 vaccines outweighed the risks of side effects.
“The vaccination should continue until the European Medicines Agency announces the result of the investigation (into blood clotting reports),” the KPS said. “The government should fully disclose the cause of death of a patient who died after the inoculation or the cause of side effects and whether the cause is related to the vaccine or not.”
As side effects such as fever and muscle pain are more severe among younger people and less among the elderly, the senior group should get the AstraZeneca vaccine, and younger people, Pfizer vaccine, the KPS said.
To prevent the public discontent and distrust in medical institutions under the national vaccination program, the health authorities should operate a call center to provide professional counseling for post-vaccination issues, the KPS went on to say. The government should also enhance legal, institutional, and financial support for medical institutions during the vaccination program.
Above all, President Moon Jae-in and government officials should get AstraZeneca jabs as soon as possible to quell the public fears over Covid-19 vaccines, the doctors’ group said.
“If the EMA confirms that there was no link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary emboliform, President Moon and legislative, judiciary, and administrative leaders should get the vaccines to fight the vaccine scare and set an example for people,” the KPS said.
The EMA held an urgent online briefing on Tuesday and said there was no sign that blood clots were associated with the injection of AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
However, the EMA's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) continued investigating all thromboembolic events reported after vaccination closely, the EMA said. Based on PRAC’s investigation results, the EMA is to issue any necessary recommendations for further action on Thursday, local time.
EU countries are to follow the EMA’s decision on Thursday, as well.
EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke noted that thousands of people develop blood clots in the EU every year. People should remember that the AstraZeneca vaccine's benefits in preventing Covid-19 outweighed the risks, she added.