Monday, June 22, 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.

    Prev Next

    MORE National ARTICLES

    First Person: Getting Home From Poland, In Covid-19 Lockdown

    First Person: Getting Home From Poland, In Covid-19 Lockdown
    POZNAN, Poland - When my wife and I left Canada on March 3 destined for her ailing mother's hospital bedside, we never imagined that we would face the prospect of being in Europe and watching country after country go into various forms of lockdown — or that we would be directly affected by it.    

    First Person: Getting Home From Poland, In Covid-19 Lockdown

    Alan Kurdi's Aunt Has Mixed Feelings After Sentencing In His Case

    Alan Kurdi's Aunt Has Mixed Feelings After Sentencing In His Case
    VANCOUVER - The aunt of three-year-old Alan Kurdi says she has mixed feelings after three people were sentenced in the human smuggling case that resulted in the deaths of her nephew, his brother and mother as they fled Syria in 2015.    

    Alan Kurdi's Aunt Has Mixed Feelings After Sentencing In His Case

    BC Ferries Allows Passengers To Remain In Vehicles To Deal With Covid-19

    BC Ferries Allows Passengers To Remain In Vehicles To Deal With Covid-19
    The ferry service says the decision to allow passengers to remain in their vehicles will be accompanied by new safety measures.    

    BC Ferries Allows Passengers To Remain In Vehicles To Deal With Covid-19

    Homeless Vulnerable To COVID-19 Need Help From Governments: Advocates

    Homeless Vulnerable To COVID-19 Need Help From Governments: Advocates
    Chrissy Brett said social distancing to reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus is difficult for people who are housed in crowded spaces and lining up in groups to use bathrooms and get food.    

    Homeless Vulnerable To COVID-19 Need Help From Governments: Advocates

    Canadian Travellers Trying To Return Trapped By Border Closures For COVID-19

    Nikita Singh and Marco Tenaglia are calling every government office and embassy they can to try and find out how — or if — they will be able to leave Peru and get back to Toronto.

    Canadian Travellers Trying To Return Trapped By Border Closures For COVID-19

    Cineplex To Close Theatres Nationwide In Response To COVID-19

    Cineplex To Close Theatres Nationwide In Response To COVID-19
    TORONTO - Canada's largest movie exhibitor Cineplex Inc. says it's closing all of its 165 theatres nationwide until at least April 2 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

    Cineplex To Close Theatres Nationwide In Response To COVID-19

    PrevNext