Millions of people in dozens of countries have received the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine with few reports of ill effects, and its prior testing in tens of thousands of people found it to be safe.

But recently, blood clots and abnormal bleeding in a small number of vaccine recipients in European countries have cast doubt on its safety, although no causative link has been found between the patients’ conditions and the vaccine. The reports have prompted more than a dozen countries to either partly or fully suspend the vaccine’s use while the cases are investigated. Most of the nations said they were doing so as a precaution until leading health agencies could review the cases.

Moderna begins study of COVID-19 vaccine in kids Moderna Inc has begun dosing patients in a mid-to-late stage study of its COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, in children aged six months to less than 12 years, the company said on Tuesday. Reuters Staff U.S.

(Reuters) - Moderna Inc has begun dosing patients in a mid-to-late stage study of its COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, in children aged six months to less than 12 years, the company said on Tuesday.

Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus Sweden, Portugal, Latvia and Slovenia joined a number of the European Union states in suspending AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots over concerns of possible serious side-effects, while the World Health Organization said there was no proven link and people should not panic. Reuters Staff U.S.

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* Coronavirus infections are rising exponentially in Germany, an expert at the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/15/world/covid-19-coronavirus#germany-france-and-italy-become-latest-to-suspend-use-of-astrazenecas-vaccine

Germany, France and Italy temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, joining a growing list of nations that paused use of the vaccine in recent days over concerns that it might be tied to blood clots.

Leading public health agencies, including the World Health Organization, say that millions of people have received the vaccine without experiencing blood clotting issues, and they caution that experts have not found a causative link between the vaccine and the conditions. The company has also defended the vaccine as safe, amid the flurry of suspensions.

Facebook to label all Covid-19 vaccination posts, launch sign-up website Facebook said on Monday it has started adding labels to posts that discuss the safety of the shots and will soon label all posts about the vaccines. NBC News

Facebook, which has been criticized by lawmakers and researchers for allowing vaccine misinformation to spread on its platforms, said on Monday it has started adding labels to posts that discuss the safety of the shots and will soon label all posts about the vaccines.

EU defends vaccine distribution as nations complain it is uneven The European Commission on Saturday defended its policy of distributing COVID-19 vaccines evenly in the bloc after Austria and five other member states complained that doses were not allocated equally. Reuters Staff U.S.

VIENNA (Reuters) - The European Commission on Saturday defended its policy of distributing COVID-19 vaccines evenly in the bloc after Austria and five other member states complained that doses were not allocated equally.

Stunning analysis traces new Ebola outbreak to survivor of W. Africa crisis The analysis suggests that a survivor of the historic Ebola outbreak continued shedding the virus at least five years after being infected. Helen Branswell STAT

A survivor of the massive 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak almost certainly triggered an outbreak currently underway in Guinea, according to a new genetic analysis, news that has landed like a bombshell in the community of researchers who study the dangerous virus.

Contraceptive cost of COVID: a million unplanned pregnancies Nearly 12 million women in poorer countries lost access to contraception in the pandemic, leading to 1.4 million unplanned pregnancies, the United Nations said on Thursday. Anastasia Moloney U.S.

BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly 12 million women in poorer countries lost access to contraception in the pandemic, leading to 1.4 million unplanned pregnancies, the United Nations said on Thursday.