The European Medicines Agency has published a statement to the effect that the protection offered by approved vaccines outweighs the risks. I believe this is unnecessarily cautious and contributes to fear. From various authorities quoted on Radio 4 yesterday, I learned that in the manufacturer's trials (trawled over by many official medicines agencies) there were slightly fewer reports of blood clots than in the population as a whole, and that there were slightly more reports in respect of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. But in either case the numbers were so small as to be insignificant. Why not state categorically that there is no link between the vaccines and thromboses?
The conclusion I draw is that the authorities in Denmark and Norway (who started the panic) should rather look to the life-style of their citizens or the age profile of those vaccinated. If all those countries in the EU who have taken against AstraZeneca want to dispose of their stocks, let them send them to Wales, where they will be welcome. The vaccination programme can then be completed ahead of time.
As soon as the call comes through from my local clinic and/or pharmacy that the Oxford vaccine is available in Skewen, I shall be round there like a shot.
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