Two weeks after the European Medicines Agency first assured EU member states it had found no link between the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and earlier reports of rare blood clots, a growing number of countries have announced new restrictions on the use of the jab.

While the UK and Austria have imposed no restrictions, France, Sweden, Finland, Canada and most recently Germany have recommended that younger people avoid the shot. In Norway and Denmark, the vaccine is still suspended.

The EMA, the World Health Organization and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency all state that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any possible risks. But a rare combination of blood-related symptoms seen in a small number of people has meant some governments are proceeding with more caution.