Plymouth’s director of public health says there is no evidence of a link between the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots.

Dr Ruth Harrell’s comments echoed the views of the UK and EU healthcare regulators, the World Health Organisation and the vaccine manufacturer, after some EU countries paused the jab amid concerns.

The issue came up as the director was giving an update on Covid-19 at a meeting of the city council on Monday afternoon.

The Netherlands has suspended the vaccine as a precaution following reports from Denmark and Norway about side-effects including clotting.

Today, France followed Germany in also suspending the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid jab.

Dr Harrell said: “There has been some concern, particularly across some of the EU countries, around some events, where people have had blood clots, and there is a bit of an investigation under way to try to understand whether those are connected at all.

“Now if you look at the data for the number of people that have blood clots, given that there have been millions of people vaccinated, it’s inevitable that there will be some events such as blood clots that might happen at around the same time. That doesn’t mean that the two are connected.

“Now it’s absolutely right that it’s investigated and it’s looked into, but at the moment there’s absolutely no evidence that the one led to the other, as opposed to them happening at about the same time.”

Dr Harrell said she was in one of the at-risk groups and had received a Covid vaccination.

She added: “I have had the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccination, and I will have absolutely no hesitation in having my second dose when it’s offered.”

Cllr Kevin Neil had asked the director about the reaction of countries to the blood clot reports which he said “seem to have no medical foundation.”

The councillor said he publicised receiving his first vaccine dose and encouraged others to do the same “because we have to build trust and confidence”.


The councillor said: “I’m really anxious that we reassure people to take the vaccine, and keep themselves and others safe.”

More than 90,000 people have been vaccinated in Plymouth, with 95per cent coverage of the groups targeted so far.

On Friday a World Health Organisation spokeswoman said there was no link between the jab and an increased risk of developing a clot, the BBC reported. She said it was an "excellent vaccine" and should continue to be used.

There have been about 30 cases in Europe of "thromboembolic events" - or developing blood clots - after the vaccine was given to around five million people. There were also reports that a 50-year-old man had died in Italy after developing deep vein thrombosis.

The WHO said it was investigating the reports as it did any safety questions, but no causal relationship had been established between the vaccine and the health problems reported.

On Friday, AstraZeneca said the recorded number of blood clots in vaccinated people was “significantly lower” than would be expected in the general population.

Analysis of safety data from more than 10 million records showed no evidence of increased risk of the serious blood clot conditions pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis.

Bulgaria decided to pause its rollout after similar steps by Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Thailand. Italy and Austria have stopped using certain batches as a precaution. The European Medicines Agency has said there is no indication the shot was causing the blood clots.

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