AstraZeneca has declared there is no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots after taking its coronavirus vaccine.
Following a review of safety data of people vaccinated with the Oxford-university developed jab, the company is confident the jab is safe.
There were concerns after 30 'thromboembolic events' were reported, leading to the company's vaccine being halted in several countries across Europe and Asia.
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AstraZeneca said in a statement: "A careful review of all available safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and UK with Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country."
AstraZeneca has said the vaccine has been studied extensively during Phase 3 trials, and peer-reviewed data confirmed that the jab is 'generally well-tolerated.'
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it was aware of the suspension across various countries and was 'closely reviewing reports'.
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"But given the large number of doses administered, and the frequency at which blood clots can occur naturally, the evidence available does not suggest the vaccine is the cause," a spokesperson said.
"The vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing."
Europe's drug regulator also noted that the data available so far showed the number of blood clots in vaccinated people is no higher than that seen among the general population.
Dr Phil Bryan, vaccines safety lead at Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory, added: "Reports of blood clots received so far are not greater than the number that would have occurred naturally in the vaccinated population.
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"The safety of the public will always come first. We are keeping this issue under close review but available evidence does not confirm that the vaccine is the cause. People should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so."
According to experts, the AstraZeneca vaccine is designed to prevent the coronavirus in people aged 18 and older.
It is made up of an adenovirus that has been modified to contain the gene for making a protein from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Australian PM Scott Morrison has assured Australians that the vaccine as 'safe', after he discussed the reports with health department secretary, Brendan Murphy.
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"I trust our Therapeutic Goods Administration and the advice that they give me," Morrison said.
"All the data from all of the places that we have relationships with, which obviously includes Europe, is being fed into the TGA, and that data is examined and that's what informs the decisions that we take here in Australia.
"Remember, the batches that we distribute across Australia, those batches are tested here in Australia. They're tested here by the TGA, I was watching them doing it just earlier this week, and so we have a very robust process for examining that."
"The learnings from that have been taken into account as we've been rolling out the vaccine safely here in Australia," Morrison said.
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Australia has secured about 54 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with the majority to be produced by CSL in Melbourne.
Topics: Covid-19