HSE plans to catch up on AstraZeneca rollout following EMA approval

A vial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. File picture

The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is “safe and effective” – and its benefits outweigh any risks, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has concluded.

However, the European regulator said it “cannot rule out definitively” a link between “a small number of cases of rare and unusual but very serious blood clotting disorders” and the vaccine, though investigations were ongoing.