Summary for Monday, 15th March
Here are some of the main headlines this morning.
Join us for the latest on these and other stories.
It will be suspended until at least 29 March as a precaution, the Dutch government said.
The Republic of Ireland has also made a similar decision after reports from Denmark and Norway about possible side effects.
But the World Health Organization says there is no link between the coronavirus vaccine and an increased risk of developing a blood clot.
Manufacturer AstraZeneca also says there is no evidence of a link.
The European Medicines Agency is carrying out a review but says the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh any risks.
And in the UK, medicines regulator the MHRA has urged people to still get their vaccine, and that evidence “does not suggest” the jab causes clots.
Prof Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), says all the current evidence shows the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is safe.
If there were any concerns about it, the public would be informed "straight away", he told BBC Breakfast.
He said the European regulator of medicines, the British regulator - the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the World Health Organisation and AstraZeneca have "all said this vaccine is safe".
"At the moment, the message is absolutely clear - go and get your vaccine when offered," he said.
"I spent all yesterday in our practice vaccinating with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine - I would not be immunising my own patients unless I felt it was safe."
He said there was "no demonstrable difference" in the number of blood clots seen between the general population and the 11 million who have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab to date.
"We have to remember that there are 3,000 blood clots a month on average in the general population and because we're immunising so many people, we are bound to see blood clots at the same time as the vaccination, and that's not because they are due to the vaccination," he said. "That's because they occur naturally in the population."
He added "the risks of not having the Covid vaccination far outweigh the risks from the vaccinations".
Key developments from the last few hours:
Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford vaccine group which developed the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, has said "safety is clearly absolutely paramount" and no link had been found between the vaccine and blood clots.
He was speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme after several European countries suspended use of the coronavirus vaccine over concerns about possible side effects.
He said there was "very reassuring evidence that there is no increase in a blood clot phenomenon here in the UK, where most of the doses in Europe been given so far".
Finland has also done a "very careful study" and not found an increased risk, he added.
Prof Pollard warned there were "huge risks" from Covid and "if we have no vaccination and we come out of lockdown in this country, we will expect tens of thousands of more deaths to occur during this year".
He added that a number of countries around Europe are now seeing an increase in cases again.
"It's absolutely critical that we don't have a problem of not vaccinating people and have the balance of a huge risk - a known risk of Covid - against what appears so far from the data that we've got from the regulators - no signal of a problem," he said.
- The Netherlands is the latest country to suspend use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine
- It comes amid reports of blood clotting - but the World Health Organization says it is safe
- The UK medicines regulator says people should carry on getting their vaccines and evidence "does not suggest" the jab causes clots
- Vaccination expert Prof Anthony Harnden has told the BBC he will carry on using the AstraZeneca jab
- Prof Harnden also says all over-50's will be vaccinated 'in the next few weeks'
- Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida has defended how officers responded to a crowd, which gathered during lockdown restrictions
- Hospitality bosses in the UK threaten to take the government to court over plans to reopen after lockdown
- More pupils in Wales and Scotland are returning to the classroom on Monday
- Former US president Donald Trump is being urged to encourage his supporters to get vaccinated
- Globally, there have been 2,653,644 deaths and 119,874,650 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University
Welcome to Monday's coronavirus live page
Good morning and welcome to our live page coverage as we bring you the latest on coronavirus news from the UK and around the world.Here are some of the main headlines this morning.
- The Netherlands has suspended use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution, after concerns about reports of blood clotting. The World Health Organization says it is safe
- More pupils in Wales and Scotland are returning to schools from today
- Hairdressers and barbers are reopening in Wales
- Two of the biggest names in hospitality have threatened to take the government to court over its plans to release England from lockdown
Join us for the latest on these and other stories.
Netherlands suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine
The Netherlands is the latest country to suspend use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, over concerns about reports of blood clotting.It will be suspended until at least 29 March as a precaution, the Dutch government said.
The Republic of Ireland has also made a similar decision after reports from Denmark and Norway about possible side effects.
But the World Health Organization says there is no link between the coronavirus vaccine and an increased risk of developing a blood clot.
Manufacturer AstraZeneca also says there is no evidence of a link.
The European Medicines Agency is carrying out a review but says the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh any risks.
And in the UK, medicines regulator the MHRA has urged people to still get their vaccine, and that evidence “does not suggest” the jab causes clots.
UK vaccines expert: 'I would not be using jab if wasn't safe'
BBC BreakfastProf Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), says all the current evidence shows the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is safe.
If there were any concerns about it, the public would be informed "straight away", he told BBC Breakfast.
He said the European regulator of medicines, the British regulator - the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the World Health Organisation and AstraZeneca have "all said this vaccine is safe".
"At the moment, the message is absolutely clear - go and get your vaccine when offered," he said.
"I spent all yesterday in our practice vaccinating with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine - I would not be immunising my own patients unless I felt it was safe."
He said there was "no demonstrable difference" in the number of blood clots seen between the general population and the 11 million who have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab to date.
"We have to remember that there are 3,000 blood clots a month on average in the general population and because we're immunising so many people, we are bound to see blood clots at the same time as the vaccination, and that's not because they are due to the vaccination," he said. "That's because they occur naturally in the population."
He added "the risks of not having the Covid vaccination far outweigh the risks from the vaccinations".
AstraZeneca concerns and other global developments
Looking beyond the UK, here are the coronavirus stories that are making headlines across the world today.- AstraZeneca has offered reassurance on the safety of its Covid-19 vaccine, after several countries suspended its use over concerns about possible side effects
- In the US, the country’s infectious disease expert says it would be "a game-changer" if former President Donald Trump encouraged Republicans to get the coronavirus vaccine
- Coronavirus restrictions were reimposed across much of Italy on Monday, after rising infections caused concern despite the gathering pace of vaccinations
- The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea is facing a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections, which neighbouring Australia and aid groups fear could overwhelm the country's small and overstretched health system
Key developments from the last few hours:
- AstraZeneca found ‘no evidence’ of blood clot risk. AstraZeneca Plc said on Sunday a review of safety data of people vaccinated with its Covid vaccine has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.
- Netherlands suspended use of AstraZeneca vaccine, forcing cancellation of 43,000 appointments. Dutch health authorities will be forced to cancel 43,000 vaccination appointments due to the government’s decision to halt use of the Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine for at least two weeks, news agency ANP reported Sunday.
- Major arms sales flat in 2016-20 for first time in more than a decade. International deliveries of arms were flat in the period 2016-2020, ending more than a decade of increases, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report on Monday. While the pandemic has shut down economies across the world and pushed many countries into deep recessions, Sipri said it was too early to tell whether the slowdown in arms deliveries was likely to continue.
- Protests erupted across many of Jordan’s cities and provincial towns against the government’s coronavirus restrictions, a day after oxygen ran out at a state hospital leading to the deaths of at least six Covid patients, witnesses said on Sunday.
- Italy’s northern region of Piedmont said on Sunday it would stop using a batch of AstraZeneca coronavirus shots after a teacher died following his vaccination on Saturday.
- Australia’s Labor party says the government must provide PNG with Covid vaccines amid alarming outbreak. Labor has called on the Morrison government to provide emergency medical assistance to Papua New Guinea, including providing doses of the Covid vaccine for the country’s health workers, as concerns escalate about the growing number of cases in the Pacific nation.
- Singapore, Australia discuss possible air travel bubble. Singapore and Australia are discussing an air travel bubble with each other to eliminate the need for quarantine as they look to reopen borders mostly shut for nearly a year because of the coronavirus crisis.
- Japan weighs 50% cap on Olympics spectators – reports. Japan is considering limiting spectators at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics to half of venue capacity because of coronavirus risks, the Sankei newspaper said on Sunday. For large venues the limit could be 20,000, but more spectators may be allowed if the situation improved, it added.
Oxford vaccine group director: 'No increase in blood clot phenomenon in UK'
Today Programme - BBC Radio 4Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford vaccine group which developed the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, has said "safety is clearly absolutely paramount" and no link had been found between the vaccine and blood clots.
He was speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme after several European countries suspended use of the coronavirus vaccine over concerns about possible side effects.
He said there was "very reassuring evidence that there is no increase in a blood clot phenomenon here in the UK, where most of the doses in Europe been given so far".
Finland has also done a "very careful study" and not found an increased risk, he added.
Prof Pollard warned there were "huge risks" from Covid and "if we have no vaccination and we come out of lockdown in this country, we will expect tens of thousands of more deaths to occur during this year".
He added that a number of countries around Europe are now seeing an increase in cases again.
"It's absolutely critical that we don't have a problem of not vaccinating people and have the balance of a huge risk - a known risk of Covid - against what appears so far from the data that we've got from the regulators - no signal of a problem," he said.