Internationally acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma celebrated receiving his second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine by performing an impromptu concert at a vaccine site in Berkshire Community College, Massachusetts: Netherlands suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine, forcing cancellation of 43,000 appointments Dutch health authorities will be forced to cancel 43,000 vaccination appointments due to the government’s decision to halt use of the Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine for at least two weeks, news agency ANP reported Sunday. The Netherlands has temporarily halted its AstraZeneca vaccine programme, the government has said. The suspension will be in place until at least 29 March, Reuters reports. Several other European countries have temporarily suspended use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, including Norway, Denmark and Ireland. However, the UK’s medicines regulator said available evidence does not suggest the vaccine is the cause of the blood clots, advising people to get the jab when asked to do so.AstraZeneca also said its review had found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country. AstraZeneca finds "no evidence" of blood clot risk AstraZeneca Plc said on Sunday a review of safety data of people vaccinated with its Covid vaccine has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots, Reuters reports. AstraZeneca’s review, which covered more than 17 million people vaccinated in the United Kingdom and European Union, comes after health authorities in some countries suspended the use of its vaccine over clotting issues. “A careful review of all available safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and UK with Covid 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,” the company said. Authorities in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands have suspended the use of the vaccine over clotting issues, while Austria stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots last week while investigating a death from coagulation disorders. “It is most regrettable that countries have stopped vaccination on such ‘precautionary’ grounds: it risks doing real harm to the goal of vaccinating enough people to slow the spread of the virus, and to end the pandemic,” Peter English, a retired British government consultant in communicable disease control, told Reuters. European Medicines Agency has said there is no indication that the events were caused by the vaccination, a view that was echoed by the World Health Organisation on Friday. The drugmaker said, 15 events of deep vein thrombosis and 22 events of pulmonary embolism have been reported so far, which is similar across other licensed Covid vaccines. The company said additional testing has and is being conducted by the company and the European health authorities and none of the re-tests have shown cause for concern. The monthly safety report will be made public on the EMA website in the following week, AstraZeneca said. The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed in collaboration with Oxford University, has been authorised for use in the European Union and many countries but not yet by US regulators. The company is preparing to file for US emergency use authorisation and is expecting data from its US Phase III trial to be available in the coming weeks. Summary Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan. I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours. As always, you can find me on Twitter @helenrsullivan. AstraZeneca Plc on Sunday said it had conducted a review of people vaccinated with its Covid vaccine which has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots. The review covered more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and United Kingdom. “A careful review of all available safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and UK with Covid 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,” the statement said. The statement came as the Netherlands became the latest country to suspend the use of vaccine. Norway, Denmark and Ireland are among other countries to temporarily suspend use of the jab. The head of the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said he has “no doubt” that there will be a further wave of coronavirus infections in the autumn. There have been a further 4,618 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data – compared with 5,177 cases last Sunday. The Philippines is on track with its Covid-19 inoculation drive, the head of the government’s vaccine strategy said on Sunday, addressing criticisms the rollout has been slow as worries grow about a surge in new cases. The European Union will be able to stick to its vaccination targets this quarter despite AstraZeneca delivery delays as Pfizer is producing faster than planned, according to the EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton. Irish health authorities have recommended that the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine should be temporarily “deferred” in Ireland in the wake of a report by Norwegian regulators. Northern Ireland’s department of health has asked the UK’s medicines regulator for an update on the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout in light of the Republic of Ireland’s suspension of the jab, the department has said in a statement, confirming that it will continue. France’s government has said today it plans to evacuate around 100 Covid-19 patients from intensive care units in the Paris region this week as hospitals struggle to keep up with a surge in cases. Bahrain eased some of its coronavirus restrictions on Sunday, including allowing eating inside restaurants and re-opening educational institutions to students, as case numbers fall. Italy’s northern region of Piedmont has said it would temporarily suspend AstraZeneca coronavirus shots after a teacher from the town of Biella died following his vaccination on Saturday. Dutch police have been using water cannon to disperse anti-lockdown protesters in The Hague. Brazil’s health minister, Eduardo Pazuello, is set to be replaced by the Bolsonaro administration, according to Brazilian media reports.