[ti:EU: AstraZeneca Shot Not Linked to Increase of Blood Clots] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The European Union’s drug control agency [00:03.60]says the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe. [00:09.96]The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday [00:13.88]announced its findings from an examination of medical records [00:19.40]on millions of people who had received the drug. [00:23.80]It began the examination following reports [00:28.40]that a small number of people experienced blood system blockages, [00:34.16]or clots, after receiving the vaccine. [00:38.28]Last week, several European countries [00:42.56]suspended use of AstraZeneca's vaccine as a result. [00:48.48]The EMA spoke after an extraordinary meeting [00:52.64]to discuss concerns among its member countries and others. [00:58.84]Emer Cooke leads the EMA. [01:02.04]She told reporters Thursday, “Our scientific position [01:07.08]is that this vaccine is a safe and effective option [01:12.04]to protect citizens against COVID-19.” [01:16.52]Cooke added, “If it were me, I would be vaccinated tomorrow.” [01:23.04]However, she said the agency “cannot rule out [01:27.64]definitively a link” between blood clots and the vaccine. [01:34.32]The EMA said it looked at about 25 cases of rare blood clots [01:40.40]out of 20 million people that received the vaccine by March 16. [01:47.20]The agency said, “a causal link with the vaccine is not proven, [01:52.80]but is possible,” adding that the issue should be studied further. [01:59.40]The agency said that the number of reported blood clots [02:03.52]was lower than expected in the general population. [02:07.96]This led to the conclusion, the EMA reported, [02:11.92]that “there is no increase in the overall risk of blood clots.” [02:18.44]About 13 European nations had suspended [02:23.00]the use of AstraZeneca vaccine [02:25.80]after reports of possible blood clots linked to the shots. [02:30.96]On Thursday, Italian Premier Mario Draghi [02:35.60]welcomed the decision by the EMA. [02:39.60]He said Italy would restart AstraZeneca vaccinations as early as Friday. [02:47.88]When the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved [02:51.64]for emergency use in Britain last December, [02:55.80]the shot was described as the “vaccine for the world.” [03:01.00]It costs much less than vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. [03:06.84]It also does not require extreme cold storage, [03:11.96]making it easier to use in countries with limited resources. [03:18.12]COVAX is an international program [03:21.48]to deploy coronavirus vaccines to people around the world. [03:27.72]It hopes to provide at least 2 billion shots, [03:32.16]mainly from AstraZeneca, to poor countries around the world. [03:37.88]Two other vaccines are approved for emergency use in Europe. [03:43.44]One is from Pfizer-BioNTech and the other is a Moderna product. [03:50.84]In the United States, health officials have approved [03:54.76]vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna [03:58.88]and Johnson & Johnson for emergency use. [04:04.20]AstraZeneca is planning to seek U.S. government approval [04:08.72]in the coming months. [04:11.84]Michael Head is a top researcher at Britain’s University of Southampton. [04:18.16]He worries that people may be less willing [04:22.28]to be injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine [04:25.84]when the suspensions end. [04:28.24]“This is at a time when we need [04:31.16]to stop the virus circulating," he said, [04:34.72]"to reduce the chances of further variants emerging.” [04:41.04]Speaking to reporters on Thursday, [04:43.72]the World Health Organization’s director for Europe, Hans Kluge, [04:49.08]said that countries should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine. [04:56.08]He added, “We need to renew confidence, [05:00.44]if it’s lost, to restore it - especially for AstraZeneca.” [05:07.20]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM