Ireland and others join Austria in temporarily suspending AstraZeneca vaccines

Ireland temporarily suspended AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday following new information received from the Norwegian Medicines Agency regarding blood clotting in some recipients there, the country’s health ministry said.

Three health workers in Norway who had recently received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were being treated in hospital for bleeding, blood clots and a low count of blood platelets, its health authorities said on Saturday.

Health authorities in Denmark, Norway and Iceland have suspended the use of the vaccine over the issues, while Austria stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots last week while investigating a death from coagulation disorders.

Ireland’s National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) recommended the temporary deferral of the administration of the vaccine “out of an abundance of caution”, pending the receipt of more information from European regulators in the coming days.

“The decision to temporarily suspend use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was based on new information from Norway that emerged late last night. This is a precautionary step,” Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said on Twitter.