A vial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is seen with injection supplies at a clinic in Winnipeg on March 19, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Dr. Supriya Sharma
Health Canada's chief medical adviser says the three cases of blood clotting reported out of 300,000 Canadians who have received a Oxford-AstraZeneca shot have no apparent link to the vaccine.
Dr. Supriya Sharma says none of the cases resemble the very rare brain blood clot seen in a small number of patients in Europe.
She notes that blood clotting rates are the same or even higher among people who have not received the AstraZeneca vaccine than for those who have been jabbed.
Warning of blood clotting on product label for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine
Health Canada has updated the product label for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to warn about blood clotting.
The agency notes reports of those events are very rare, and non-existent is Canada.
The label warning follows reports from Europe that AstraZeneca might cause a rare type of blood clot in the brain in a very small number of patients.
Health Canada's chief medical adviser, Dr. Supriya Sharma, says she agrees with European health authorities that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any potential risks.