NEW DELHI: Close to the heels of several European countries like Bulgaria, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Iceland and the Republic of Ireland, Germany, France, Italy and Spain today announced halting the use of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The suspensions of the vaccine by so many European countries follows reports that some people developed thrombotic events or blood clots after receiving the shot, although The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union’s medicines regulator - European Medicines Agency (EMA) say they have seen no evidence of a link.

In India, Pune based Serum Institute of India is manufacturing the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which is known locally as Covishield, however, no major contraindications have been reported so far for the same in India. 

“Around 17 million people in the EU and UK have now received our vaccine, and the number of cases of blood clots reported in this group is lower than the hundreds of cases that would be expected among the general population,” said 

Both AstraZeneca and Oxford University has tried to allay fears saying that the vaccine went through 'rigorous clinical trials' and blood clots were not identified as a problem. AstraZeneca has said that safety is of 'paramount importance' and the company is continually monitoring the safety of its vaccine.

AstraZeneca's Chief Medical Officer Ann Taylor has said that out of the nearly 17 million people in the EU and UK who have now received our vaccine, the number of cases of blood clots reported in this group was lower than the hundreds of cases that would be expected among the general population.

"The nature of the pandemic has led to increased attention in individual cases and we are going beyond the standard practices for safety monitoring of licensed medicines in reporting vaccine events, to ensure public safety,' she said.

The WHO has also backed the use of the vaccine and said it has seen no evidence that the shot had caused clotting. The UN health agency is reviewing the reports of possible side effects related to the shot and urged countries not to suspend vaccinations, as its top scientist said people should not panic.