In light of growing concerns due to rising reports of blood clotting in adults who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine jab, the World Health Organization (WHO) is stating that a causal relationship between the two has yet to be determined.

According to the COVID-19 subcommittee of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS), based on current information, while a relationship between the vaccine and blood clot occurrences is considered “plausible” a direct link has not been “confirmed”.

The WHO subcommittee came to this conclusion after reviewing the latest information from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) along with information provided by the United Kingdom’s Medicine and other Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and other member states.

 In a release dated Wednesday (April 7), the subcommittee stated that “whilst concerning, the (blood clotting) events under assessment are very rare, with low numbers reported among the almost 200 million individuals who have received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine around the world”.

The subcommittee has therefore argued that the “rare adverse events following immunisations should be assessed against the risk of deaths from COVID-19 disease and the potential of the vaccines to prevent infections and reduce deaths due to diseases”.

It noted that, as of April 7, “at least 2.86 million people have died of COVID-19 disease worldwide”.

WHO said while it will continue to carefully monitor the rollout of all COVID-19 vaccines, working closely with countries to manage potential risks, and using science and data to drive response and recommendations, the organisation is of the belief that vaccine administration should continue to be “based on a risk versus benefit analysis”.