[ti:EU Agency: ‘Possible Link’ Between Blood Clots, AstraZeneca Vaccine] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said Wednesday [00:06.04]it has found a "possible link" between the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine [00:13.12]and rare cases of blood system blockages, known as blood clots. [00:20.96]The EMA announcement is the latest setback for a low-cost vaccine [00:27.96]that was once called a "vaccine for the world." [00:32.84]The AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for emergency use [00:38.04]in over 100 countries including Britain and the European Union. [00:44.60]The vaccine is also a large part of the United Nations COVAX program [00:51.92]to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries. [00:58.00]The agency advised that blood system blockages [01:01.88]should be listed as "side effects" of the vaccine. [01:07.12]It said women under the age of 60 [01:10.56]represent most of the cases of blood clots reported so far. [01:16.04]The problems, the agency said, happened within two weeks of vaccination. [01:23.76]The EMA said it was not "possible to identify specific risk factors." [01:32.08]EMA chief Emer Cooke spoke to reporters Wednesday. [01:37.36]She said the risk of death from COVID is much greater [01:42.00]than the risk of death from these side effects. [01:46.04]The EMA and the World Health Organization have said repeatedly [01:51.68]that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective. [01:57.76]Early in the pandemic, the AstraZeneca vaccine, [02:01.64]developed with Britain's University of Oxford, [02:05.40]was considered a leading candidate against the coronavirus. [02:11.08]It costs much less than other vaccines. [02:14.80]It also does not require extreme cold storage, [02:19.96]making it easier to use in countries with limited resources. [02:26.32]Last September, the company temporarily suspended the trials of the vaccine [02:32.80]after a volunteer in Britain developed inflammation in her spine. [02:39.60]It was later found to be unrelated to the vaccine [02:43.48]but led to a long delay in the United States. [02:48.48]In March, about 13 European countries [02:52.88]suspended their use of AstraZeneca vaccine [02:56.68]after reports of possible blood clots linked to the shot. [03:01.60]Most restarted with some age restrictions [03:05.88]after the EMA said countries should continue to use the vaccine. [03:12.04]A week later, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, [03:18.40]a U.S. health agency, released an unusual statement [03:23.16]saying that "AstraZeneca might have included [03:27.76]outdated information from that trial, which may have provided [03:33.12]an incomplete view of the efficacy data." [03:37.96]On Wednesday, the Reuters news agency reported [03:41.60]that EU health ministers planned to meet after the EMA's announcement. [03:48.88]Even officials in Asia said they were waiting to hear the EMA's decision. [03:55.28]South Korea had temporarily suspended the use [03:59.68]of AstraZeneca's vaccine in people 60 and younger. [04:05.60]The country's health officials said Wednesday that they would also [04:10.24]pause a plan to vaccinate teachers that was to begin on Thursday, [04:15.88]while awaiting the results of the EMA's review. [04:21.20]Dr. Peter English was a former head [04:24.56]of the British Medical Association's Public Health Medicine Committee. [04:30.64]He said questions over the vaccine [04:33.88]could have serious consequences around the world. [04:38.76]English told the Associated Press, [04:41.84]"We can't afford not to use this vaccine [04:45.80]if we are going to end the pandemic." [04:49.96]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM