• Italy which enters a strict lockdown on 15 March, announces a pledge to reach 500,000 daily vaccinations by 20 April- and to have 80 percent of the population vaccinated by September 2021. Source
• Norway, which suspended AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine after Austria reported a blood clot-related fatality in a recent vaccine recipient, has recorded three cases of severe blood clots and cerebral hemorrhage among people who got the vaccine. Dr. Sigurd Hortemo, a doctor at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, stated that there would be a thorough investigation, Source
• Fiona Cookson, Astra Zeneca’s Director of Global Media Relations, announced that safety data from over 17 million doses did not show any “…. evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia,” and that there was no difference in the number of these that those that occurred among unvaccinated people. The EMA is investigating; initially, it has not found any evidence that the vaccine caused the blood clots. A group of experts from WHO are looking at certain vaccine batches, noting that unless there is a link between the vaccine and blood clots, there is no reason to stop vaccinations. Source
• In the UK, the MHRA releases a statement underscoring that no evidence has confirmed that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine caused blood clotting and encouraging people to be vaccinated. Source
• In Hong Kong, where at least 122 coronavirus cases have been linked to a gym, eight hundred people – including infants and very young children- are in quarantine. Source
