AstraZeneca side effects: why Covid vaccine was suspended in some countries - and common side effects explained

A number of countries suspended use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in response to reports that some people had developed blood clots after receiving it.

Several European countries halted administration of the jab following the reports either as a precautionary measure or banned the use of a specific batch.

But the EU’s medicines regulator has said there is no indication that the Covid vaccine is linked to an increased risk of blood clots.

And the results from a US trial of the AstraZeneca vaccine were released on Monday 22 March which confirm that the jab is both highly effective and safe.

So, which countries have suspended the jab, is it linked to blood clots - and what are the common mild side effects of the vaccine?

Here is everything you need to know.

Which countries have suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine?

Several European countries either suspended use of the AstraZeneca jab as a precautionary measure, or banned the use of a specific batch after blood clots formed in a small number of people who had been given it.

Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspended their rollouts of the vaccine.

The EMA said Denmark’s decision was a "precautionary measure [taken] while a full investigation is ongoing into reports of blood clots in people who received the vaccine, including one case in Denmark where a person died".

No details of the Danish death have been made public, but health officials said the suspension would last for two weeks.

Norway’s public health institute said it would follow Denmark’s suspension until there was more information on any link between the vaccine and the blood clot cases.

And Iceland’s chief epidemiologist told public broadcaster Ruv to "err on the side of caution".

Meanwhile, Italy and Austria suspended different batches of the vaccine.

Italy’s medicines body called the decision “precautionary”, saying no link had been made between the jab and “serious adverse events”.

Two Italians are reported to have died after being inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

An anonymous source told Reuters news agency that the deaths were what prompted the temporary suspension.

But the Italian health authority announced on Monday 15 March that it had extended the local ban of the vaccine to become a national one.

Austria made the decision after a woman died 10 days after she was given the jab due to "severe blood coagulation problems".