Ireland suspends AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine amid reports of blood clots in recipients

Health officials in Ireland on Sunday recommended a temporary halt to giving residents the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 after reports of serious blood clotting after inoculations in Norway.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Ireland’s deputy chief medical officer, said the recommendation was made after Norway’s medicines agency reported four cases of blood clotting in adults after receiving the vaccine, according to the Associated Press.

Glynn made clear that no conclusive evidence exists of  a link between the vaccine and the blot clotting but said Irish health officials are recommending the suspension of the vaccine’s rollout as a precaution.

Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic authorities have taken similar precautionary steps, the wire service also reports.

AstraZeneca said in a statement Sunday that it "would like to offer its reassurance on the safety of its COVID-19 vaccine based on clear scientific evidence."

The World Health Organization and the European Union’s medicines regulator have previously said that there was no link between the jab and an increased risk of developing a clot, the Associated Press also reports.