There is a crisis brewing on the other side of the Atlantic, about the safety of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19. Europeans in multiple countries have reported blood clots and abnormal bleeding after receiving it, which has occasionally required hospitalization. In response, regulators across Europe, where this vaccine is most widely distributed, have suspended its use and are reviewing its safety. But scientific and medical experts are frustrated. They emphasize that the incidence of blood clots is actually much
lower than in the general population and that the vaccine is safe. They worry that the regulators’ response will amplify vaccine hesitancy and increase potentially deadly COVID-19 infections. The science, they insist, is clear and should be trusted.