Coronavirus: Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspend use of AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clot fears
- Austria earlier stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism
- European medicine regulator EMA says the vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks and can still be administered
Health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine following reports of the formation of blood clots in some people who had been vaccinated.
Austria earlier stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism.
Still, the European medicine regulator EMA said the vaccine’s benefits outweighed its risks and could continue to be administered.
Europe is struggling to speed up a vaccine roll-out after delivery delays from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, even as a spike in cases amid a more contagious virus variant has triggered fresh lockdowns in countries like Italy and France.
09:50
SCMP Explains: What's the difference between the major Covid-19 vaccines?
Denmark suspended the shots for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman, who was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died, Danish health authorities said.