Oxford

U.S. health authorities have recommended pausing the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 shot over blood clot fears, with the company announcing it would delay its European rollout in a setback for global immunization efforts.

British medical regulators restricted the roll-out of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to people aged over 30 on Wednesday, dpa reported. The British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said people aged 18 to 29 who do not have an underlying health condition will now be recommended other vaccines instead.

Bulgaria's Minister of Health, Prof. Kostadin Angelov, on April 7, convened an extraordinary meeting of the National Vaccination Headquarters in connection with the information provided by the European Medicines Agency regarding the Oxford vaccine.

"The vaccination site at St. Joanna - ISUL University Hospital will be open from today between 14-17 hours and on March 27th and 28th March 2021 from 8:30 to 16.30. The available vaccine is AstraZeneca. No advance appointment is required," the hospital's  press office reported.

The National COVID Vaccination Coordination Committee (CNCAV) announced Friday the decision to cancel the suspension of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine batch ABV 2856.

With a spate of EU countries having suspended administration of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to inconclusive indications of a possible connection of the vaccine to thrombosis in a minuscule percentage of those who received the vaccine, Greece has said it will continue to use it in its ongoing rollout.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov ordered the immunizations with the AstraZeneca vaccine to be suspended, until the European Medicines Agency assuages all doubts about its safety by written statement.

Thailand on March 12 joined several European nations in suspending the AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clot fears, despite a range of health authorities around the world insisting it was safe.

Nearly 60,000 people have registered online to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov told journalists on Sunday. The e-registration system has been subjected to persistent hacking attacks, he said and added: "Apparently, someone really wants us to fail, but that is not going to happen".

Germany will soon authorize the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 65, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday, the same day Belgium authorized its rollout to seniors.

The countries - both criticized for the slow pace of their inoculation drives - had previously said there was insufficient data about the effect of the vaccine on older age groups.