Germany, France, Italy and Spain halt use of AstraZeneca vaccine

Germany, France and Italy and Spain said they would suspend AstraZeneca Covid-19 shots after several countries reported possible serious side-effects, even though the World Health Organization (WHO) said there was no proven link and people should not panic.

Denmark and Norway stopped giving the shot last week after reporting isolated cases of bleeding, blood clots and a low platelet count. Iceland and Bulgaria followed suit and Ireland and the Netherlands announced suspensions on Sunday.