The move comes after a number of cases of blood clots were reported among people who had received the Covid-19 medication.

Spain has followed the lead of Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands and Ireland and has temporarily suspended the administration of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The move comes after a number of cases of blood clots were reported among people who had received the medication. Germany, France and Italy also halted the use of the inoculation on Monday, opting to wait until the European Medicines Agency (EMA) clarifies whether or not it is related to these thrombotic events. The EMA, meanwhile, continues to investigate the issue and will make a statement on Thursday. In the meantime, it is insisting that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

The alarm raised by a series of these cases prompted the change of course by the Spanish Health Ministry, which until now had been a defender of the continued use of the AstraZeneca vaccine despite the move by Denmark and Norway. “At the weekend the risk evaluation changed,” said María Jesús Lamas, the director of the Spanish Medication Agency, on Monday after an urgent meeting of the Inter-Territorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS), which brings together the Health Ministry and the regional healthcare chiefs. “From Saturday to Sunday we were made aware of a case of cerebral venous thrombosis, specifically of the venous sinuses, which developed with a reduction in platelets, which implies irregular coagulation activity. Fortunately, [the patient] is recovering, but that same day we found out about three similar cases in Norway, and Germany had also identified four cases. We decided that this accumulation of cases of this particular and specific thrombosis warranted additional evaluation.”