Saturday, June 20, 2026
ADVT 
National

Health Canada to add warning on AstraZeneca

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Mar, 2021 05:48 PM
  • Health Canada to add warning on AstraZeneca

Health Canada is in the process of adding a warning about a rare possible side-effect of blood clots from the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine but is still certain the vaccine is safe and effective against COVID-19.

The department's chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma says the warning comes on the heels of a similar warning in Europe last week but doesn't change Health Canada's analysis that the vaccine's benefits outweigh its risks.

The European Medicines Agency last week amended its authorization of the vaccine to say there is not an overall increase in the risk of blood clots after getting the vaccine.

However the EMA and Health Canada are still analyzing data to see if there is a reason the vaccine may have caused a very small number of blood clots in the vein that drains blood from the brain.

Sharma says the warning in Canada would centre on what to look for, including intense or persistent headaches, shortness of breath and pain in the legs.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Canada's vaccination program is moving much faster than before but warns there has been a 15 per cent rise in the number of new cases of COVID-19 in the last week.

MORE National ARTICLES

RCMP say man shot and killed in early morning attack in Surrey, B.C.

SURREY, B.C. — RCMP say a man has been shot and killed in Surrey, B.C.   Police say officers were called to the Whalley neighbourhood just before 1 a.m. for a report of shots fired.  

RCMP say man shot and killed in early morning attack in Surrey, B.C.

Finding ways to socialize while keeping distant? Loopholes not worth the risk

Setting up lawn chairs in driveways for socially-distant neighbourhood parties. Talking to one another from apartment building balconies. Driving to parking lots to chat from cars parked two metres apart.

Finding ways to socialize while keeping distant? Loopholes not worth the risk

Sex. Drugs. Virus. Venezuela elites still party in pandemic

MIAMI — They whiled away the week on a sex- and drug-fueled romp: dancing on white-sand beaches and frolicking on a paradisaical Caribbean island with prostitutes from Europe, some snapping selfies with famous reggaeton artists.

Sex. Drugs. Virus. Venezuela elites still party in pandemic

VIRUS DIARY: In Beijing, finally, a tentative spring blooms

BEIJING — The coronavirus came first in the depths of winter. As with so many places afterward, the change seeped in gradually.

VIRUS DIARY: In Beijing, finally, a tentative spring blooms

Canadian companies promise 30,000 ventilators on way, Trudeau says

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has ordered 30,000 new ventilators from Canadian companies but hopes that will end up being far more than this country will actually need.

Canadian companies promise 30,000 ventilators on way, Trudeau says

Luck, timing, lessons from Ontario, Quebec helped B.C. slow COVID-19: doctor

VICTORIA — British Columbia's top doctor is crediting luck and timing for the province's early restrictive measures that helped slow down the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

Luck, timing, lessons from Ontario, Quebec helped B.C. slow COVID-19: doctor