On Thursday, March 11, 2021, Denmark suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine (developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford) completely. Some other European countries followed suit.

This prompted an investigation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which held a press conference on Thursday, March 18 – one week after Denmark’s decision.

During the conference, the EMA stated that the AZ vaccine was “safe and effective” and concluded that the benefits outweigh the risks. It could not, however, rule out a link between the vaccine and blood clots; a possibility they would continue to investigate.

But just a few hours earlier, the Oslo University Hospital (Rikshospitalet) confirmed a link with blood clots.

So, what do we know so far? Read on for the full lowdown on AstraZeneca and COVID-19 vaccines in Europe.

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