Denmark, Norway and several other countries have temporarily stopped vaccination with Astra Zeneca's covid-19 vaccine.

The reason is cases of blood clots in people who have received doses from a batch of the vaccine.

The batch consists of one million doses that have been delivered to 17 EU countries, including Sweden.

Denmark's Minister of Health Magnus Heunicke justified the decision by saying that there is a risk that the vaccine has caused blood clots.

The Danish authorities will now take a closer look at the risks.

A total of 30 reported cases in Europe

On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had reported 30 cases of blood clots among the approximately 5 million people in Europe who have been vaccinated with Astra Zeneca's vaccine.

In Sweden, a total of approximately one million vaccine doses have so far been given with all approved vaccines.

Among the people in Sweden who have received Astra Zeneca's vaccine, two cases of suspected blood clots have been reported.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched an investigation into the link between Astra Zeneca's vaccine and blood clots after Austria suspended its use of Astra Zeneca's vaccine earlier this week.

In the authority's data, the EMA has so far not seen any connection between the vaccine and an increased risk of developing a blood clot.

In Sweden, the Medical Products Agency has made the same assessment and therefore chosen to continue using the vaccine.

The EMA continues to investigate the party and possible side effects.

WHO: No evidence of death

Nor does the World Health Organization (WHO) currently assess that there is reason to stop using Astra Zeneca's vaccine.

An advisory expert committee within the WHO investigates problems that are reported.

- We have examined the information on deaths.

There are no deaths, to date, that can be proven to have been caused by vaccination, says WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris in a statement.

The countries that paused

In addition to Denmark and Norway, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Iceland and Italy have completely or partially suspended the use of Astra Zeneca's vaccine.

On Friday, Thailand and Bulgaria were added to that list.