Ireland stops use of AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of blood clots in Norway

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The Norwegian Medicines Agency said on Saturday that there were four new cases of severe blood clotting in adults after taking the vaccine.

The Irish National Vaccination Advisory Committee (NIAC) made the directive as a precautionary measure although it “has not been concluded that there is a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and these cases,” he said. in a press release.

The Irish NIAC is expected to meet again on Sunday to further discuss the vaccine suspension, he added.

Ireland is the latest in a series of European countries that have decided to partially or fully suspend the deployment of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of patients developing blood clots after inoculations.

Austrian health authorities were the first to sound the alarm on the potential dangers of the vaccine, suspending a batch of doses on Tuesday.

Italy on Friday banned the use of vaccines from a specific batch of AstraZeneca doses following the death of a serviceman in Sicily, who died of cardiac arrest a day after receiving his first dose of the vaccine.

However, Denmark on Thursday became the first European country to temporarily suspend the entire deployment of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The European Union’s medicines regulatory body, the EMA, is currently examining whether the vaccine could be linked to a number of reports of blood clots.

AstraZeneca has vigorously defended its vaccine, saying on Friday that there was “no evidence of an increased risk” of blood clots. European and UK drug regulators have also said the link between the vaccine and blood clots has not been confirmed and deployments are expected to continue.

“There is currently no indication that the vaccination caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine,” the EMA said in a statement Thursday.

So far, more than 110,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been administered in Ireland, which represents around 20% of all doses in the country according to state broadcaster RTÉ.

CNN has reached out to AstraZeneca for comment.

Niamh Kennedy reported from Dublin and Lindsay Isaac reported from London.

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