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AstraZeneca vaccine potential risk is ‘incredibly small’ – England’s chief medic – Metro US

AstraZeneca vaccine potential risk is ‘incredibly small’ – England’s chief medic

Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty, arrives at Downing
Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty, arrives at Downing Street, in London

LONDON (Reuters) – The potential risk from having AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is ‘incredibly small’ and is far outweighed by the benefits, England’s Chief Medical Officer said after five reports of rare blood clots in the brain after receiving the shot.

“What we have here (…) is an incredibly small potential risk, and even this is a potential risk, not one that is certain,” Chris Whitty said on Thursday.

“So, five people out of the 11 million that have been given the vaccine in the UK so far, against the really very substantial protection that these vaccines give.”

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton, writing by Paul Sandle)