London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Covid: Child jabs halted in trial as adult clot link probed

Covid: Child jabs halted in trial as adult clot link probed

A trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine on children has stopped giving out jabs while the UK's medicines regulator investigates a possible link with rare blood clots in adults.

Prof Andrew Pollard from the University of Oxford told the BBC there were no safety concerns with the trial itself, but its scientists were waiting for further information.

Around 300 volunteers signed up.

Earlier, PM Boris Johnson said people should get their jab when invited.

More than 31.6 million people in the UK have had a first vaccine dose and a total of 5.4 million people have received a second dose.

Two vaccines - developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNtech - are being used in the UK, while a third - from Moderna - has been approved.

The trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on children, which started in February, is assessing whether the jab produces a strong immune response in those aged between six and 17.

Its suspension comes after a European Medicines Agency (EMA) official, speaking in a personal capacity, said there appeared to be a link with the jab and rare blood clots.

Confirming that the trial on children was being paused, Prof Pollard said: "Whilst there are no safety concerns in the paediatric clinical trial, we await additional information from the MHRA on its review of rare cases of thrombosis/thrombocytopaenia that have been reported in adults, before giving any further vaccinations in the trial."

Participants are advised to continue to attend all scheduled visits and can contact the trial sites if they have any questions.

Updates from the EMA and the UK's regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), are expected in the coming days.

The EMA said its safety committee had "not yet reached a conclusion and the review is currently ongoing".

The MHRA says the benefits of the jab continue to outweigh any risk.

More information is needed

All medicines, from vaccines to paracetamol, have the potential to cause severe side effects.

The seasonal flu jab has around a one-in-a-million chance of causing the nerve disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, for example.

The key question is whether the risks are worth the benefits.

Even if the vaccine was the cause, and this is still not proven, the numbers suggest around one death in every 2.5 million people vaccinated in the UK.

For everyone over the age of 75 infected there is one death per eight Covid infections.

For those in their 40s it is one death per 1,000.

On the face of it, the risk-benefit ratio is clearly in favour of vaccination if you assume you are going to be infected at some point.

But what is needed now is more information about who has been suffering from these rare blood clots. How old are they? Do they have any underlying health conditions that could explain what happened?

This will help narrow down the scale of any potential risks.

An update from the UK regulator - as well as the European one - is expected in the coming days.

During a visit to the AstraZeneca manufacturing plant in Macclesfield, Cheshire, earlier on Tuesday, Mr Johnson defended its vaccine.

"On the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the best thing people should do is look at what the MHRA say, our independent regulator - that's why we have them, that's why they are independent," said Mr Johnson, who has received the first dose of the vaccine himself.

"Their advice to people is to keep going out there, get your jab, get your second jab."

The prime minister added: "The best thing of all is to vaccinate our population, get everybody out getting the jab, that's the key thing and that's what I would advocate, number one."

The MHRA is investigating reports of a very rare and specific type of blood clot in the brain, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), occurring together with low levels of platelets (thrombocytopenia) following vaccination.

A number of countries have suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab among younger people, including in Germany, which has paused it for people aged below 60, and Canada, where the jab is not being given to those under 55.

In total, the UK has secured 457 million Covid vaccine doses, of which 100 million are from AstraZeneca. Vaccines from Moderna will be deployed in the UK "around the third week of April", Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi has said.

The MHRA has said it identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events out of 18.1 million doses of the jab administered up to and including 24 March. There have been seven deaths among the 30 cases.

But the regulator's chief executive Dr June Raine said: "People should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so.

"Our thorough and detailed review is ongoing into reports of very rare and specific types of blood clots with low platelets [the cells involved in clotting] following the Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca.

"No decision has yet been made on any regulatory action."

There have been a further 2,379 coronavirus cases in the UK and another 20 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test, according to the latest government figures.



The PM on the safety of the AstraZeneca jab


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×