Nations face dilemma on handling AstraZeneca vaccine AP, BRUSSELS With COVID-19 cases rising in many places, governments yesterday faced the grimmest of dilemmas: push on with a vaccine that is known to save lives or suspend use of AstraZeneca over reports of dangerous blood clots in a few recipients, despite no evidence the shot was responsible. Sweden was the latest to join a swelling group of EU nations choosing caution over speed, even as European Medicines Agency (EMA) Executive Director Emer Cooke said that there was “no indication” that AstraZeneca vaccines were the cause of the clots. The EMA is “firmly convinced” that the benefits of the AstraZeneca shot outweigh the risks, but an evaluation is ongoing, Cooke said.