A healthcare worker prepares a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease during a vaccination rollout for teachers in Ronda, Spain February 25, 2021. — Reuters picGENEVA, March 16 ― The EU's largest countries joined a stream of states halting their rollouts of AstraZeneca jabs yesterday over blood clot fears, as the World Health Organisation and Europe's medicines watchdog insisted it was safe to use.
The suspensions were not limited to Europe, with Indonesia also announcing a delay to its rollout of the jab, which is cheaper than its competitors and was billed as the vaccination of choice for poorer nations. The European Medicines Agency , which is holding a special meeting on Thursday, echoed the WHO's calls for calm and said it was better to get the vaccine than not.
Italy provided another reminder that the pandemic was far from over, most of the country re-entering lockdown on Monday with schools, restaurants, shops and museums closed. The European Union has approved four jabs so far, and is monitoring others ― including Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)