Following EU regulated European Medicines Agency’s statement confirming that it is safe to us the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19, several European Union countries have announced plans to resume its use. 

On Thursday, Spain’s Health Minister Carolina Darias announced during a conference that Spain will resume use of the AstraZeneca vaccine “next week, namely Wednesday” after the jab was deemed “safe and effective” by EMA.  

Also Read: AstraZeneca vaccine ‘not associated’ with higher blood clot risk: EU regulators

Joining other countries, Germany also announced the same. Health Minister Jens Spahn said, “The common aim of the federal government and all 16 states is for vaccinations with AstraZeneca to start again already tomorrow.”

“The course of events this week shows that citizens can trust that they will be informed transparently and they can trust that careful checks will be carried out,” he added. 

France was the newest addition to the list of European countries restarting AstraZeneca jabs. It also announced a month-long limited lockdown for Paris and several other regions to mitigate the spread of a third COVID wave in the country. 

Also Read: WHO recommends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine amid blood clot concerns

EMA chief Emer Cooke said Thursday, “The committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion: this is a safe and effective vaccine. The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots.”

However, the agency “cannot rule out definitively” a link to a rare clotting disorder she added, reported AFP. 

The World Health Organization and Britain’s health watchdog MHRA both said the vaccine was safe, adding that it was far riskier to not get the shot as several countries face a worrying rise in coronavirus cases.