Fiocruz says to reinforce vaccine surveillance after Europe points out clots

After a European agency said it had found a possible link between the Oxford vaccine and the formation of blood clots, Fiocruz – which is responsible for national production – said today that it is strengthening pharmacovigilance in order to monitor adverse events and manage risks.

“Fiocruz, as a national producer of this vaccine, reports that it is strengthening pharmacovigilance to monitor adverse events and to manage potential risks and to generate data and information on the safety of the vaccine,” said Fiocruz.

“Right now, new studies are underway on the effectiveness of the immunizer,” he added next.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) estimated on Wednesday (7) that blood clots suffered by people vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s anticovid immunizer should be considered a “very rare” side effect of the drug.

The EMA has established “a possible link to very rare cases of unusual blood clots, along with low levels of blood platelets”, so it considers that the balance between risks and benefits remains “positive”, according to a statement.