No reason to stop using AstraZeneca vaccine: WHO

The World Health Organization recommends that countries continue to use AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine over fears it causes blood clots as there is no indication this is true.

Bulgaria is the most recent nation to ban the vaccine.

However, a WHO spokeswoman said at a press conference on Friday that there was no connection between the vaccine and the formation of a clot.

Margaret Harris called it an "excellent vaccine" that should be used in the future, reports the BBC.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has already been administered to approximately 5 million Europeans.

There have been about 30 cases of "thromboembolic incidents" - or blood clots - in Europe since the vaccine was given. A 50-year-old man died in Italy after contracting deep vein thrombosis, according to sources (DVT).

Harris said the WHO is looking into the findings, as it does for any safety issues.

But no causal relationship had been established between the shot and the health problems reported, she said.

Bulgaria's decision to pause its rollout follows similar steps by Denmark, Iceland and Norway as well as Thailand. Italy and Austria have stopped using certain batches of the drug as a precautionary measure.

"I order a halt in vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine until the European Medicines Agency dismisses all doubts about its safety," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said.

The European Medicines Agency, the EU's medicines regulator, said earlier there was no indication the jab was causing the blood clots, adding that its "benefits continue to outweigh its risks".

AstraZeneca said the drug's safety had been studied extensively in clinical trials.

Other countries, including the UK, Germany, Australia and Mexico, have said they are continuing their rollout.