AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccinations to continue here after suspension in Republic

Q Radio News/PA

AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccinations are set to continue in Northern Ireland after they were suspended in the Republic.

Stormont's Department of Health issued a statement on Sunday afternoon confirming not only would the roll-out continue but "a further expansion of this programme will be announced very shortly."

Meanwhile, no Covid-19 deaths were recorded north or south on Sunday.

Covid-19 latest - no further deaths recorded on the island of Ireland today.

Just confirmed - no deaths, 384 new cases in the Republic.

Announced earlier - no deaths, 143 new cases in Northern Ireland.

Statement from RoI National Public Health Emergency Team: pic.twitter.com/FBH0fXPFOk

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) March 14, 2021

The UK regulator has said evidence does not suggest the AstraZeneca vaccine is the cause of blood clots.

Ireland suspended use of the jab on Sunday, "out of an abundance of caution."

It followed reports of "serious clotting" in adults in Norway which left four people in hospital.

Irish Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said it was a “precautionary step”.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said: “We are aware of the action in Ireland.

“We are closely reviewing reports but, given the large number of doses administered and the frequency at which blood clots can occur naturally, the evidence available does not suggest the vaccine is the cause.”

Countries should continue to use the vaccine, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said, adding there was no indication of a link between the jabs and blood clots.

More than 110,000 doses have been administered in Ireland, which is about a fifth of all inoculations given to date.

Mr Donnelly said: “The decision to temporarily suspend use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was based on new information from Norway that emerged late last night.

“This is a precautionary step.”

In a statement to RTE, AstraZeneca said an analysis of safety data covering more than 17 million doses of the vaccine administered has shown no evidence of an increased risk of the conditions concerned, and that no trends or patterns were observed in clinical trials.

It added: “In fact, the reported numbers of these types of events for Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca are not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the unvaccinated population.

“A careful review of all available safety data, including these events, is ongoing and AstraZeneca is committed to sharing information without delay.”

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has initiated an urgent review of all blood clotting events occurring with the vaccine, to determine if there is a possible safety risk.