Denmark says it is temporarily suspending the use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
The suspension is to last 14 days, the Danish Health Ministry said.
According to a ministry statement, the suspension became necessary “after reports of severe cases of blood clots in people who have been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca.”
“Against this background, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched an investigation into the AstraZeneca vaccine. One report relates to a death in Denmark. At present, it cannot be concluded whether there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots,” the ministry’s statement further read.
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The EMA is in charge of the evaluation and supervision of medicinal products in the EU.
Director of the Danish Health Authority, Soren Brostrom, said, “Both we and the Danish Medicines Agency have to respond to reports of possible serious side-effects, both from Denmark and other European countries.”
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca said its shots were subject to strict and rigorous quality controls, noting that there have been “no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine”.
Nigeria took delivery of nearly four million doses of the vaccine last Tuesday.
Since then, President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and many other Nigerians have been vaccinated.
The presidency said that President Buhari did not experience any side-effect from taking the vaccine.