[1andrew1]

Denmark, Norway and Iceland have suspended use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in a “precautionary” move after a Danish woman died with blood clots following inoculation.

At least five other European countries have halted the use of a specific batch of the vaccine this week, after reports of blood clots sparked a safety probe from the European drugs watchdog. Meanwhile, Italy’s drug regulator on Thursday said it had halted the use of another batch, ABV2856, after two deaths.

“Right now we need all the vaccines we can get, ” said Soren Brostrom, head of the Danish health authority. “Therefore pausing one of the vaccines is not an easy decision.”

Brostrom added: “Exactly because we are vaccinating so many, we also need to respond quickly when there is knowledge of possible serious side effects.” The authority said it was acting based on the “precautionary principle”.

Danish, Austrian and EU authorities said it could not yet be concluded whether there was a link between the blood clots and the vaccine. Sweden’s medical products agency told local media it did not think there was “sufficient evidence” to suspend the vaccine.

https://www.ft.com/content/f9e5b8d8-...7-97f5adbeb638