Denmark, Norway and Iceland have temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine over concerns about patients developing post-jab blood clots, as the manufacturer and the European Medicines Agency insisted the vaccine was safe.
The EMA said that information available so far indicated the risk of blood clots in those vaccinated against the coronavirus was "no higher than that seen in the general population".
It also said that European countries could keep using the AstraZeneca vaccine while the issue was investigated, concluding that "the vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks".
Denmark, the first to announce it was suspending the jab, stressed that the move was precautionary.
"It has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots", the country's health authority said.
As of 9 March, 22 cases of blood clots had been reported among more than three million people vaccinated in the European Economic Area, the EMA said.
