Three individuals who had received the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Sri Lanka have died of blood clotting, Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi told the Parliament today (April 21).
In response to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, the Health Minister stated that Sri Lanka has reported a total of six cases of blood clotting among those who were administered the AstraZeneca jabs.
Several countries including Norway, Thailand, Austria and Iceland temporarily suspended the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine, but have now resumed the procedure. Meanwhile, Denmark recently announced that it would permanently stop administering AstraZeneca jabs.
Speaking further, Minister Wanniarachchi stressed that according to the health experts of the World Health Organization no direct links between the AstraZeenca vaccine and blood clotting have been found.
As per the estimates, blood clotting incidents were reported only in 4 – 6 people per million, the Health Minister added.
She went on to note that the World Health Organization has approved the administration of AstraZeneca vaccine.
The government has introduced a special 24-hour hotline (0112 3415989) for the members of the public to inform the authorities if they are suffering from any discomfort or side-effects after receiving the vaccine, Minister Wanniarachchi added.
