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PARIS (Reuters) - Several European countries are considering mixing up COVID-19 vaccines for citizens who received a first dose of AstraZeneca’s shot, an unprecedented move that highlights challenges for governments struggling to tame fresh rises in infections.
FILE PHOTO: Boxes of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are seen at a vaccination center, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Ronquieres, Belgium April 6, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Vaccination programmes have been upset after a small number of reports that recipients of the AstraZeneca inoculation have suffered extremely rare blood clots, leading some countries worldwide to suspend its use out of caution.
A senior official for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an interview published on Tuesday there was a link between the vaccine and rare blood clots in the brain but the possible causes were still unknown.