clotting Researchers in Germany and Norway have reportedly found a mechanism that could cause the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to create blood clot Scientists in Europe have reportedly found a link between the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine and extremely rare but potentially fatal blood clots, but Canadian public health officials have so far provided no update on guidance for the shot. News broke on Friday that researchers in Germany and Norway said they had found a mechanism that could cause the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to create the blood clots in very rare circumstances, in addition to identifying a possible treatment for it. The finding comes after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) investigated 25 cases of the rare blood clots out of about 20 million AstraZeneca shots given and concluded on Thursday that the benefits from the vaccine far outweigh its possible risks, although a definitive link could not be ruled out. The EMA said there was no increased risk from blood clots and that because the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is effective in preventing COVID-19, which itself causes blood clots, the shot could actually reduce the risk of them overall. But not all blood clots are the same, and 18 of the cases in Europe were of an extremely rare type called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) — where veins that drain blood from the brain are obstructed and can potentially cause fatal bleeding. Most of the incidents occurred within 14 days of receiving the AstraZeneca shot, and the majority were in women under the age of 55. It's worth noting that this type of blood clot is much more common in women, particularly during and after pregnancy and while on birth control. eu Covid: France and Poland increase lockdown measures as infections surge France and Poland have reintroduced partial lockdowns as both countries battle a sharp rise in Covid infections in recent weeks. Some 21 million people in 16 areas of France, including the capital Paris, are affected as the country fears a third wave. In Poland, non-essential shops, hotels, cultural and sporting facilities are now closed for three weeks. The country has the highest new daily rates of Covid cases since November. Coronavirus cases are also rising exponentially in Germany, with Chancellor Angela Merkel warning it is likely that the country will now need to apply an "emergency brake" and re-impose lockdown measures.

ontario Ontario reports 1,829 new COVID-19 cases as outdoor dining opens in Toronto, Peel Case count is highest since February 1, 7-day average up to 1,532 Ontario reported another 1,829 cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the most on a single day in about seven weeks as the province loosened restrictions on restaurants in some of the hardest-hit regions. Today's case count is the highest since Feb. 1, and includes 593 in Toronto, 287 in Peel Region, 157 in York Region, 124 in Hamilton and 101 in Ottawa. They come as labs completed 52,083 tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and logged a positivity rate of 3.6 per cent. The seven-day average of daily cases climbed to 1,532, a level also not seen since early last month.