The benefits of Covid vaccination increase with age and infection rates in communities, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday.
Speaking at a news conference, Noel Wathion, EMA's deputy chief executive, said "the more you grow, the more benefits you will see" after receiving the vaccine. He further said that "in a situation with higher levels of infection", the benefits of getting the vaccine only increase.
His announcement came as the EMA advised those taking a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to take a second, despite the potential risk of infrequent blood clots.
Earlier this month, the EMA said there was a "potential link" between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots. However, the agency said the benefits of getting the vaccine outweigh the risks. The agency also identified this week a similar possible link between the blood clot and the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson. For both vaccines, the EMA recommended that the benefits of both vaccines outweigh the risks.
On Friday, EMA officials said it was important to investigate whether cases of blood clots could be linked to the technology used to create the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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