7 PEOPLE DIE AFTER GETTING THE SAME COVID-19 VACCINE USED IN KENYA.

Britain’s medicines regulator confirmed late Friday that seven people have died from blood clots after receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, but noted there is not yet substantiated proof the extremely rare blood-clotting events are directly related to the shots, and that benefits of the vaccine outweigh any risks.

Out of more than 18 million AstraZeneca doses administered through March 24, only 30 occurrences of… [+]blood clot cases had been identified, according to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Key Facts
Out ofAstraZeneca doses administered through March 24, only 30 occurrences of blood clot cases had been identified, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

Of those 30 cases, 22 included reports of(when clotting forms in the veins that drain blood from the brain), and the other eight were linked to thrombosis events with low platelets.

The MHRA confirmed they were conducting a “” of the issue while noting the risk is “very small.”

Dr. June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, asserted the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine (preventing infection and its complications) “continue to outweigh any risks” and that all individualswhen they have the opportunity to do so.

Regulators affirmed they had not received any reports of blood-clotting issues linked to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

“Receiving the vaccine is by far the safest choice in terms of minimizing individual risk of serious illness or death,” Adam Finn, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol,, noting that resultant blood clots were an “extreme rarity.”

Key Background:
Last month, several European countriesthe use of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to reports of a potential link to blood clots, while others have restricted its use in certain at-risk age groups. Earlier this week, German health officials suspended the vaccine’s use inafter the country’s medical regulator said it found 31 cases of blood-clotting incidents. On Friday, the Netherlandsthe vaccine for individuals under 60 after the death of a woman there who had been given an AstraZeneca shot.

Tangent:
Both the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization have confirmed they agree with the MHRA, determining that the pros of AstraZeneca exceed the risks. The EMAThursday after conferring with a panel of independent experts from several countries, including Canada, Germany, France and Spain. The public should be aware of the “remote possibility” of blood clots occurring, the statement read, adding, “a causal link with the vaccine is, but is possible, and further analysis is continuing. Thursday’s statement builds on anfrom the EMA in mid-March, that it could not rule out a link with blood clots, although it found the vaccine to be “safe and effective” following an extensive review prompted by the suspensions.

Big Number:
0.0000016%. That’s the percentage of U.K. residents (30 out of 18.1 million) that have experienced a blood-clotting issue after receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

By Forbes