AstraZeneca UK Vaccine Trial In Children Paused As Clot Link Probed

It is the latest drama to hit AstraZeneca, which has been embroiled in controversy over its failure to deliver its promised doses to the European Union, and over the jab's efficacy and safety profile.

A British trial of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on children has been paused while regulators assess its possible link to blood clots, Oxford University, which helped develop the jab, said Tuesday. "Whilst there are no safety concerns in the paediatric clinical trial, we await additional information from the MHRA (UK regulator) on its review of rare cases of thrombosis/thrombocytopaenia that have been reported in adults, before giving any further vaccinations in the trial," the university said in a statement. "Parents and children should continue to attend all scheduled visits and can contact the trial sites if they have any questions." Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is one of many bodies across the globe analysing real world data from the AstraZeneca rollout to see if there is a definitive link between the jab and a rare form of blood clot, after cases were initially reported in Norway and continental Europe.