‘Benefits outweigh risk’: WHO says keep using AstraZeneca vaccine

UN health agency seeks to reassure countries as fears over possible serious side effects simmer.

Countries should continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine, the World Health Organization (WHO) urges, saying its benefits outweigh any risks as the world continues to reel from the coronavirus pandemic. Hans Kluge, WHO director for Europe, made his appeal on Thursday after more than a dozen European countries stopped using the vaccine following scattered reports of blood clots as possible serious side effects. “As of now, we do not know whether some or all of the conditions have been caused by the vaccine or by other coincidental factors,” Kluge said.