AstraZeneca
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World Health Organization (WHO) experts on Wednesday recommended countries continue to use the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, though they said they were looking into the vaccine safety after a slew of countries suspended its use over health fears, AFP reported.

The suspensions in several countries came due to concerns over potential links between the AstraZeneca vaccine with blood clots or brain hemorrhages.

But the WHO's vaccine experts said Wednesday it was still better to take the AstraZeneca vaccine than not, adding that it was looking into available data on the jab.

"The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is carefully assessing the latest available safety data," the UN health agency said in a statement quoted by AFP.

"At this time, WHO considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends that vaccinations continue."

The recommendation echoed a similar statement from the European Medicines Agency, which on Tuesday advised countries to continue using the vaccine, saying there was no link with clots.