Guyana has not recorded any cases of blood clots in persons who have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony.
The health minister made these remarks during his daily COVID-19 update in response to questions that were asked regarding public concern about reports of people in other countries suffering blood clots after receiving their vaccines.
Dr Anthony noted that Guyana had received doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines from Barbados, the Indian Government, and the COVAX facility, and had started the campaign using the AstraZeneca shots. The authorities here, he added, are satisfied that the no instances of clotting have been recorded locally.
“We were satisfied that when we used it in Guyana we did not have any cases of blood clotting and we have been monitoring for these cases so we are very pleased with the results that we have had with these vaccines so far and we will continue to use them,” the minister was quoted as saying.
In relation to the investigations that were conducted in a number of other countries, he noted that the use of the vaccines was paused in a number of countries to allow a proper assessment to be carried out. Anthony pointed out that the World Health Organization through its advisory body called SAGE (Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization) had conducted a review of the vaccine and concluded that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. “We have had a number of other expert entities that have reviewed the vaccine such as the European medical regulatory authority and they concluded similarly the vaccine, the benefits outweigh the risks. In the UK a similar assessment was done and again that was the conclusion,” the minister said.
