Norway should exclude J&J, AstraZeneca from vaccine scheme: Panel

Eight Norwegian cases of severe clotting had been linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, and four of those recipients had died, says commission.

Norway should exclude the COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson from its inoculation programme due to a risk of rare but harmful side effects, a government-appointed commission said on Monday. However, those who volunteer to take either vaccine should be allowed to do so, it said, stressing the importance of dispelling any vaccine hesitancy. Norway suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout on March 11 after a small number of younger inoculated people suffered a combination of blood clots, bleeding and a low platelet count.