Is the AstraZeneca Vaccine Safe?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So, according to the figures, some 17 million people have been injected with AstraZeneca vaccine, and, of those, 37 have developed cases of clots. Can you explain to us the significance of these numbers and what you know about this clotting situation?

DR. ANTHONY COSTELLO, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, as I’m sure my colleague David will agree, that when you have the huge rollout of the vaccine, you need clear data that the rate of any complications is higher than you would expect to find in the general population, or if you’re doing trials, and we have done a lot of big trials, to show difference between the vaccinated and control group. So, for example, in America, you would expect one to 2,000 people in the U.S. to have clots in their legs or lungs every day. Now, if at the moment, the vaccine rollout is 1 percent, then you would expect to have 10 to 20 people with blood clots each day, regardless of whether they have had the vaccine or not. So, we — I’m actually quite annoyed actually at this, because you have a regulatory process that you take a lot of time over, great care to show that the vaccine is safe. And then, at the first sign of any trouble, you say, oh, let’s suspend the vaccine. And that will have negative consequences, as you suggest, for vaccine hesitancy and for overreacting, I think, and all the people that aren’t going to get access to those vaccines.