The European Medicines Agency will this afternoon give its verdict on whether or not the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is safe to continue to use following its suspension by 13 member states - including Ireland - due to concerns about a possible link to blood clots in a small number of recipients.
The regulator and the World Health Organization have already said the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh any potential risk.
The EMA stepped in after 30 cases of unusual blood disorders were reported, out of a population of five million people who had received the vaccine.
In particular, the agency is investigating any potential link between the vaccine and cerebral venous thrombosis, or CVT. In Germany, seven people aged 20 to 50 were