S. Korea suspends AstraZeneca vaccination programs due to concerns over blood clots

S Korea-vaccine

S. Korea suspends AstraZeneca vaccination programs due to concerns over blood clots

SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea decided Wednesday to suspend a AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination program for people younger than 60 due to concerns related to blood clots.

Set to start on Thursday, AstraZeneca vaccination programs for special education instructors and teachers at kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools will also be suspended.

The decision came as the European Medicine Agency (EMA), the European Union's medicines regulator, is set to hold a meeting this week to review cases of blood clots found in people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The EMA noted last month that there is no evidence linking AstraZeneca's vaccine and increased reports of blood clots, though it couldn't rule out a correlation for rare cases of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST).

These cases are known to have been identified in women aged under 55.

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