The University of Oxford has claimed data it has collected shows no signs of any issues associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine - which it co-developed - as a number of European nations stop administering the vaccine due to its association with the development of blood clots in some recipients.
Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
The Netherlands has joined the seven other nations that have chosen to freeze the use of the vaccine after a woman's death last week was linked to blood clots brought on by the vaccine.
Read more: Denmark suspends Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine following patient death
The woman in question's death is the only fatality attributed to any of the major vaccines currently being rolled out globally. Other deaths were alleged to have been due to the AstraZeneca vaccine but many were dismissed after it was found to be pre-existing conditions that led to the patient's deaths.
Professor Andrew Pollard, the head of Oxford's vaccine group told the BBC there was "encouraging evidence" to suggest there was no link between its vaccine and an increase in blot clots.
He added: “It’s absolutely critical that we don’t have a problem of not vaccinating people and have the balance of a huge risk, a known risk of Covid, against what appears so far from the data that we’ve got from the regulators — no signal of a problem."
His claims are supported by both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The WHO told Reuters it was vital for public safety that vaccine programmes continued.
"It is normal for countries to signal potential adverse events. This does not mean that the events are linked to vaccination but it is good practice to investigate them," the agency said.
17 million people in total across the UK and EU have received a shot of the vaccine. Less than 40 cases of blood clots have been reported.
Medical experts have suggested the number of patients suffering from blood clots is no more than typically seen in the general population.
The Dutch government have banned the use of the vaccine until March 29 as a precaution.
The Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria and Iceland have all frozen vaccinations, with Germany joining their numbers late this afternoon.
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Other countries, such as Austria and Italy have suspended the rollout of a particular strain - estimated to be around one million doses across 17 countries.
The UK's regulator has also said there appears to be no concrete evidence the jab is responsible for blood clots.
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