European Countries Suspend Use of AstraZeneca Vaccine Over Blood Clot Reports

Several European countries temporarily suspended use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after at least 37 reports of people who received it experiencing life-threatening blood clots. The European Medicines Agency said Thursday that it had found “no indication” so far that the vaccine caused the clots, and AstraZeneca said there had been 37 reports of blood clotting out of 17 million Europeans vaccinated. Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Bulgaria, Ireland, the Netherlands suspended use of the vaccine, as did Venezuela, Indonesia and Thailand, although Thailand reauthorized it on Tuesday. AstraZeneca is reportedly expected to apply for FDA authorization in the U.S. by late March or early April. As of Tuesday afternoon, coverage was more prominently featured in some left- and center-rated outlets than in right-rated outlets, which tended to highlight stories about immigration. Coverage followed similar narratives across the spectrum.