France and Italy announced Monday a temporary suspension on the use of a COVID-19 vaccine, developed by UK drugmaker AstraZeneca.
On the recommendation of the Minister of Health (...) it was decided as a precautionary measure to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the hopes of resuming it quickly, French President, Emmanuel Macron said during a press conference.
The European regulator EMA [European Medicines Agency] will give its opinion on the use of this vaccine tomorrow afternoon, he added.
The Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) followed suit with other European countries to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
"Aifa has decided to extend the ban on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a temporary precaution throughout the country, pending EMA [European Medicines Agency] announcements. This decision was taken in line with similar measures taken by other European countries," the regulator said.
