The French territory of Martinique on Tuesday (March 16) became the first Caribbean island to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine with immediate effect

According to local outlet La Première, the decision was taken in Martinique to follow French guidelines as it awaits a ruling from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), due on Thursday.

“The government announced yesterday (March 15), the use of the Astra Zeneca vaccine is temporarily suspended. Like France, a dozen European countries have opted for the precautionary principle after cases of thrombosis reported by several countries,” La Première reported.

Health officials in Martinique, who have already administered 579 doses of the vaccine, will now wait to see what decision the EMA will take, while admitting the AstraZeneca vaccine is much easier to store than the Pfizer-BioNTech booster.

It was not immediately clear, however, if the other French territories across the Caribbean—French Guiana, St Martin, Guadeloupe and Saint-Barthélemy—would follow in Martinique’s stead.

French President Emmanual Macron, in a televised address on Monday, declared that until the EMA greenlights the safety of AstraZeneca, it will no longer offer the jab to citizens. France is among a growing list of European countries that have seemingly lost faith in the vaccine.

Other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica and Barbados, are continuing with national vaccination initiatives with AstraZeneca on advice from the World Health Organisation.

See related article below:

• Faith in AstraZeneca vaccine crumbling across Europe