Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine on Hold in Some Countries

Rollouts of the shot have ground to a halt following reports of blood clots, but health authorities say that these fears are unfounded and vaccination programs should continue.

asher jones
| 2 min read
AstraZeneca, University of Oxford, vaccine, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, pandemic, coronavirus, vaccination, safety, Europe

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Update (March 22): After the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization concluded last week that AstraZeneca's vaccine is not associated with an overall increased risk of blood clots, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, at at least seven other European countries have said they will resume immunizations, according to Science. The vaccine remains suspended in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, Reuters reported on March 19.

The administration of Oxford/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot has been put on pause in Thailand and at least 10 European countries following reports of a small number of recipients developing blood clots. The World Health Organization and European health authorities are investigating these cases, but they say there’s no evidence that the vaccine is unsafe and urge inoculation campaigns to continue, The Washington Post reports.

“There is currently no indication that vaccination caused these conditions, which are not listed as side ...

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Meet the Author

  • asher jones

    Asher Jones

    Asher is a former editorial intern at The Scientist. She completed a PhD in entomology from Penn State University, and she was a 2020 AAAS Mass Media Fellow at Voice of America. You can find more of her work here.

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