Denmark is suspending the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for 14 days as it investigates reports of some patients developing blood clots after being inoculated, days after several other EU countries suspended use of a specific batch of the vaccine.
Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said Thursday authorities were looking into “signs of a possible serious side effect in the form of fatal blood clots,” though he made clear it was a “precautionary measure,” saying it was not possible yet to conclude whether the clots were linked to the vaccine.
“We act early, it needs to be thoroughly investigated,” he said in a tweet.
The Danish Medicines Agency also confirmed the investigation on Thursday in a statement, saying it would work with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the other EU pharmaceutical authorities following the reports.
“One report relates to a death in Denmark,” the statement added.
“We do not yet know whether the blood clots and the Danish death are due to the vaccine, but it must now be thoroughly examined for safety,” said Tanja Erichsen from the Danish agency.
Earlier this week, Austria suspended the use of one specific batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine –…
