Bulgaria has stopped using the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, joining a small number of European countries that have halted its use after reports that some recipients developed serious blood clots.
Fears over the safety of the vaccine rose on Sunday when Austria announced it had stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating one person’s death from coagulation disorders, and another’s illness from a pulmonary embolism.
Concerns mounted on Thursday when Denmark, Norway and Iceland said they were also suspending the use of the vaccine, jointly produced with the University of Oxford.
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said in a statement on Friday that the use of the vaccine would be paused “until all doubts are dispelled and as long as the experts do not give guarantees that it does not pose a risk to the people”.
Brussels demands more effort from firm Germany talks to US about missing shipments Thailand follows European countries in suspending AZ shot WHO and EU regulator say safety fears are unfounded
BRUSSELS, March 12 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has again angered
the EU by scaling back deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines, but got
a boost on Friday when the World Health Organisation dismissed
fears that have prompted countries in Europe and Asia to suspend
use of the shot.
The European Union has been much slower to start mass
vaccination than neighbouring Britain because of a slower
approval and purchasing process and repeated supply hold-ups.
The country's health minister disagrees with several European countries suspending the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout, saying the "benefit is far greater than the risk."
AstraZeneca scales back COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to EU again; health bodies dismiss safety fears Francesco Guarascio Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images
AstraZeneca has again angered the EU by scaling back deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines, but got a boost on Friday when the World Health Organization dismissed fears that have prompted countries in Europe and Asia to suspend use of the shot.
The European Union has been much slower to start mass vaccination than neighbouring Britain because of a slower approval and purchasing process and repeated supply delays.
The country's health minister disagrees with several European countries suspending the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout, saying the "benefit is far greater than the risk."