The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged European and other nations to continue Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine jab as there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain are among smaller nations to stop vaccinations as a precaution while checks are made.
The WHO’s vaccine safety experts will study and discuss the vaccine at a meeting being held today.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will also start discussions today and announce its findings on Thursday. It has also asked countries to continue the vaccine jabs.
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said the organisation was investigating the reports.
It will public any findings on the vaccine as soon as it got a report, he added.
“As of today, there is no evidence that the incidents are caused by the vaccine and it is important that vaccination campaigns continue so that we can save lives and stem severe disease from the virus.”
There have been a number of cases in Europe of blood clots developing after the vaccine was administered.
However, experts say these were no more than the number of blood-clot incidents typically reported within the general population.
About 17 million people in the EU and the UK have received a dose of the vaccine, with fewer than 40 cases of blood clots reported as of last week, AstraZeneca said.
The Irish Republic, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Iceland and Slovenia have also temporarily halted inoculations with the vaccine, while the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia have postponed the launch of their rollouts.
Several European countries, including Austria, have suspended the use of certain batches of the drug as a precautionary measure.
However, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine said they would continue to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine.
AUSTRALIA: Meanwhile, Australia announced on Tuesday it has no plans to stop the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said in a statement that as the European Medicines Agency is investigating these events, it has reinforced its view that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is successful in protecting against COVID-19 and should continue to be used in the rollout.
The United Kingdom and Poland are among some countries who have not stopped using the vaccine.
UNITED STATES: A top health official has announced that the US may approve the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use in April after a trial being reviewed by independent monitors.
Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said in an interview that monitors have been analysing data of 32,000 volunteers to determine whether the vaccine is safe and effective.
“If the results are positive, the US Food and Drug Administration would allow the use of vaccine,” he added.
It may take the FDA about three weeks to analyse the trial data, after which an expert advisory panel will meet and decide on whether to recommend authorisation, Dr Collins said.
