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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Alasdair Clark

Covid Scotland: Seven people die in UK from blood clots after AstraZeneca jab

Seven people in the UK have died from blood clots after receiving the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

But the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has said any benefits continue to outweigh the health risks.

It follows 22 separate cases previously reported by the regulator, Wales Online reports.

It means 30 people out of the 18 million doses of the vaccine delivered in the UK have reported blood clots, a lower number than would be expected in the population generally, experts suggest.

Get all the latest coronavirus news on our live blog.

In Scotland, 2,535,889 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination - both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jab. 434,941 have received their second dose.

Seven people are said to have died (PA)

Data released by the MHRA on Friday showed 22 cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) - a type of blood clot that can form in the brain.

Speaking to the BBC, Dr June Raine, the chief executive of the MHRA, said: "The benefits… in preventing Covid-19 infection and its complications continue to outweigh any risks and the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so."

What's the problem with the Oxford vaccine?

We don't know that there is a problem. Some countries have chosen to suspend the rollout after initial reports of concern over blood clots amongst people who had recently had a jab.

But Scotland's chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith explained that there was no "causal link" between these reports and the vaccine at a recent coronavirus briefing.

That means we don't know for sure it was the vaccine which caused the blood clots.

Other experts have also weighed in on the issue after concern about the vaccine's safety.

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