Countries should continue using AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, urges WHO

As per details, several major EU member states including Germany, France, Italy and Spain halted their rollouts of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.

WHO stated there was no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots.

Meanwhile, in a statement, AstraZeneca said there was no evidence of an increased risk of clotting due to the vaccine.

AstraZeneca further added that about 17 million people in the EU and the UK have received the dose of this vaccine, with fewer than 40 cases of blood clots reported.

WHO chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan stated, “We do not want people to panic and we would, for the time being, recommend that countries continue vaccinating with AstraZeneca.”

“So far, we do not find an association between these events and the vaccine,”she added.

Moreover, the WHO's vaccine safety experts are meeting on Tuesday (today) to discuss the jab. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will meet on the same day and draw conclusions on Thursday.

Earlier on Sunday, the health officials in Netherlands said that they had suspended the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for two weeks after possible side effects that were reported in Denmark and Norway.

The Dutch health ministry in Netherlands stated that no similar cases are currently known in the country but it advised people who had received the vaccine to contact their doctor if they experience any unexpected symptoms within three days.