Despite issues with the COVID-19 vaccine abroad, researchers say the Astrazeneca vaccine is safe.  Indiana is one of dozens of testing sites for the jab.

Five hundred thirty-two Hoosiers were among 32,449 people in the U.S., Peru and Chile who participated in trials of the Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

“We’re really proud to be able to recruit strongly in our Latinx and over 65 communities,” IU School of Medicine Dr. Cynthia Brown said. “But it also showed us that we still have continuing work to do among our black population in Indiana to ensure that we can enroll those individuals in trials.

Studies have shown African Americans to be distrusting of those conducting medical studies.

Germany and Canada stopped administering Astrazeneca doses after some people reported blot clots as a side effect.

“The safety data in the United States, not just in Indiana University, showed no evidence of any form of clotting disorder across clinical trials in the United States,” said Brown.

Brown said the Astrazeneca vaccine is unique in that it has been rolled out in so may countries worldwide, there is additional data that did not come out of the clinical trials.

Brown is hoping the government will issue an emergency use authorization for the Astrazeneca vaccine in the near future.