Several European Countries Suspend the AstraZeneca Vaccine

A group of European countries has temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over reports of serious adverse reactions such as the appearance of blood clots in people who were vaccinated.

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Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Italy, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland have stopped using some batches or fully suspended the immunization with the vaccine created by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

Both Austria and Italy reported cases with serious adverse reactions after receiving the doses. Each country confirmed the death of two individuals after being vaccinated. In Denmark, a 60-year-old woman formed a blood clot and died.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) says that  "there is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions" and considers that "the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh its risks."

On the other hand, Canada will start to use the first 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca this week, starting in Quebec. However, the authorities confirmed that "at this time, we have no information to suggest that this vaccine poses more risks than any other," the director of Public Health in Quebec, Dr. Horacio Arruda.