Clear link between AZ vaccine and rare blood clots in brain, EMA official tells paper

FILE PHOTO: Vial labelled "AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine" placed on displayed EU flag is seen in this illustration picture taken March 24, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - There is a link between AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine and very rare blood clots in the brain but the possible causes are still unknown, a senior official for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an interview published on Tuesday.

"In my opinion we can now say it, it is clear that there is an association with the vaccine. However, we still do not know what causes this reaction," Marco Cavaleri, chair of the vaccine evaluation team at the EMA, told Italian daily Il Messaggero when asked about the possible relation between the AstraZeneca shot and cases of brain blood clots.