ROME, April 15 — The European Commission has decided not to extend the contracts with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson on supplies of their coronavirus vaccines over reports of blood clotting side effects, Sputnik quoted Italian newspaper La Stampa’s report on Wednesday, citing a health ministry source.
The bloc will reportedly instead focus on procuring RNA-based vaccines, such as those developed by Pfizer and Moderna.
On Tuesday, the US Food and Drug Administration recommended suspending the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over six cases of blood clotting. Following the statement, the US company announced that it would delay its planned vaccine rollout in Europe.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine sparked blood clot concerns last month. Despite the EU regulator’s report confirming that post-inoculation thrombosis was a “very rare” side effect, a number of countries restricted its use.
