The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and the University of Oxford has now been suspended in a number of countries across Europe and Asia, following reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people. Many other nations, however, have defended their use of the shot and said they will continue their respective inoculation campaigns.
Thailand on Friday became the first Asian country to halt the use of the jab over safety concerns, shortly after Denmark announced a two-week pause to its nationwide rollout after reports of blood clots and one death.
In a setback to Europe’s ailing vaccination campaign, seven other countries have also suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot: Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.
Austria and Italy, meanwhile, have said that they will stop using certain batches of the vaccine as a precautionary measure.
Europe’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, stressed on Thursday that there was no indication the shot was causing blood clots, adding it believes the vaccine’s benefits “continue to outweigh its risks.”
The EMA acknowledged some member states had paused the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot but said inoculations may continue to be administered while an investigation of blood clot cases is ongoing.
As of Wednesday, around five million people in Europe had received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Of this figure, 30 cases of so-called “thromboembolic events” have been reported.
These cases refer to blood clots forming in the blood vessels and blocking blood flow.
AstraZeneca has said the vaccine has been studied extensively during Phase 3 trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the shot is “generally well tolerated.”
AZN shares docked 63 cents, or 1.3%, in North America to $48.04