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The Food and Drug Authority (FDA) says it has not received any reports of blood clots related to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Ghana.
According to the Authority, the most frequently reported adverse effects of the vaccine among those vaccinated are headaches, fever, chills, body aches, injection site pain, weakness, nausea and dizziness.
These effects, the FDA says, are expected from vaccination and, in most cases, resolve within a day or two.
The FDA made them known in a press release issued Tuesday, March 16, following reports of blood clots in some countries in Europe and the subsequent suspension of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in those countries.
“The FDA wants to assure the public that it is closely monitoring this situation locally and to date, no blood clot events related to the Covishield vaccine have been reported among those who have been vaccinated in Ghana,” the statement said.
“The Authority continues to work with its Committee of Experts, other regulators worldwide and will use its established safety monitoring system to support the vaccine program to ensure public health and safety,” the FDA further assured.
Of course, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Extended Immunization Program (EPI) says it has received around 1,000 reports of adverse effects from people vaccinated against Covid-19 in Ghana out of the more than 400,000 injections.
These are people vaccinated within 12 days after the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination exercise.
Also read: COVID-19 vaccination in Ghana: 1000 reports received about adverse effects
WHO on blood clots
Following reports of blood clots among some people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine in the EU and the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Germany, France, Italy, Cyprus, Spain, Latvia and Sweden have temporarily suspended use of the vaccine.
Germany, France and Italy have said they are awaiting the outcome of the EMA investigation.
Other countries, including Austria, have stopped the use of certain batches of the jab, while Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine said they would continue to administer it.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that there is no evidence that blood clot-related incidents are caused by the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
In a statement, the WHO said it was reviewing reports related to the vaccine, but that it was important that vaccination campaigns continue.
“As soon as WHO has obtained a full understanding of these events, the findings and any unlikely changes to the current recommendations will be immediately communicated to the public,” he said.
“As of today, there is no evidence that the incidents are caused by the vaccine and it is important that vaccination campaigns continue so that we can save lives and stop serious diseases caused by the virus.”
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