Oxford-AstraZeneca shot shows no indication of blood clots

Denmark, Norway and Iceland have temporarily suspended the rollout of the vaccine. Italy and Austria, meanwhile, have stopped using certain batches of the drug as a precautionary measure.

The suspensions in Italy and Austria involve different batches of the vaccine. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have also suspended the use of the same batch as Austria.

The statement of the regulator came after a number of countries, including Denmark and Norway, suspended the use of the vaccine.

The regulator said that the number of cases in vaccinated people was no higher than in the general population. The suspension followed reports that a small number of people had developed clots after receiving the vaccine.

There were also reports that a 50-year-old man had died in Italy after developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following a dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.

"There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine," the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said.

"The vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing," it added.

It said there had been 30 cases of "thromboembolic events" among the five million Europeans who have received the jab.

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.