30,000 people will not receive their first Covid-19 vaccine this week

A cluster of people who suffered clots in Norway after being vaccinated has led to a temporary halt on the drug’s use in Ireland.

A total of 30,000 people will now not receive their first Covid-19 vaccine this week, after the rollout of AstraZeneca was paused over clot fears.

Around 20,000 people in at-risk groups and a further 10,000 frontline healthcare workers had been due to be vaccinated in the coming days, however, this will now not happen.

A cluster of people who suffered clots in Norway after being vaccinated has led to a temporary halt on the drug’s use in Ireland.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has initiated an urgent review of all clotting events occurring with the vaccine to determine if there is a possible safety risk.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said he understood those who were due to be vaccinated will be extremely disappointed.

"Obviously nobody would want to see this kind of thing happening, however, what I am very comforted by as Minister for Health is that our senior clinicians leading the vaccination programme moved very quickly and they are erring on the side of caution.

"That's something I want to see and I think that's something the Irish people want to see."

He added: "We will see what the EMA says the coming days, but what we hope is that this is nothing more and a very short deferral."

Mr Donnelly said some people may view the stalling of vaccinations as an over-reaction, however, he said he would prefer that caution and safety are prioritised.

He said he hopes that the EMA will come back with positive news when it reviews the evidence later this week and it will simply mean a rescheduling for people who were due to get the dose.

"If they have to be rescheduled for a week or two because of this of course they will be disappointed by that."

While the cases in Norway are concerning, the minister said there have been just 30 notifications of clots in those who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine across the EU.