Around 30,000 people who were due to get an AstraZeneca vaccine this week are having their appointments deferred, following the decision to temporarily suspend the use of the vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is assessing reports of blood clotting in a small number of patients in Norway, however health officials in Ireland have stressed that the suspension is a precautionary step.
The decision to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine arose following reports that four people in Norway, who had recently received the AstraZeneca vaccine had then been treated for blood clotting issues.
However health officials in Ireland, including Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn, stressed that the suspension is a precautionary