Sweden and Luxembourg have joined a growing list of countries suspending the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine over concerns about possible side effects.

The Swedish Health Ministry has decided to pause AstraZeneca vaccinations while the drug is being investigated by the European Medicines Agency and its Swedish equivalent, a press officer at the ministry confirmed.

On Tuesday, Luxembourg also announced that it has decided to “temporarily suspend” vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“This is a precautionary measure, pending the outcome of tests by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) into a number of blood problems that have occurred in people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the Luxembourg government said in a statement.
“Vaccinations with AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine will be suspended in Luxembourg until the assessment of the EMA's safety committee (PRAC) is completed. Today's decision concerns both initial and follow-up vaccinations. The EMA's assessment is expected later this week,” the statement said.

Previous guidance from the EMA has said the benefits of the shot outweigh any potential risks and the number of people developing blood clots after vaccination does not seem to be higher than in the general population.

Here are the European countries that have suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure:

Denmark
Norway
Iceland
Bulgaria
Ireland
Netherlands
Germany
Italy
France
Spain
Portugal
Sweden
Luxembourg