Venezuela won’t authorise AztraZeneca vaccine due to safety fears

The decision comes after several European countries, including France, Germany and Italy, halted AstraZeneca rollouts.

Venezuela has announced that it will not authorise AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after several European countries suspended their rollouts of the jab due to possible side effects. “Venezuela will not authorise the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the process of immunising our population due to complications” in vaccinated patients, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on public television on Monday. “Taking into account the technical difficulties, President Nicolas Maduro had decided … not to approve and not to license this vaccine in Venezuelan territory.”