Germany will stop administering AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, a spokesman for that country’s Health Ministry said on Monday (March 15), making it the latest of several European countries to pause following reports of recipients falling ill.

The ministry said the decision followed a recommendation from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Germany’s authority in charge of vaccines.

“Following a recommendation from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, the government is, out of caution, halting the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Health Minister Jens Spahn would provide further details at a news conference at 4:00 pm local time (1500 GMT).

French President Emmanuel Macron also announced the suspension of AstraZeneca jabs citing concerns over the vaccine’s safety.

“The decision that has been taken is to suspend the vaccination with AstraZeneca as a precaution, hoping to resume it soon if the EMA gives the green light,” President Macron said during a press conference with the head of the Spanish government Pedro Sanchez on Monday.

For its part, Spain has also suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Several EU countries, including Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Norway and Holland have called a halt to the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of possible serious side-effects, including bleeding and blood clots.

Last week, Lothar Wieler, head of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, said there was no evidence that patients who received the vaccine were more likely than patients of a similar age group to suffer blood conditions.

Many millions of people in Britain have so far received the British-Swedish pharma company’s vaccine.

Last Friday, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, in attempting to justify the ministry’s stance on the vaccines, cited a World Health Organization (WHO) statement which claimed that the side effects associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine were from a “specific batch”.

“In a statement issued [Thursday, March 11], the WHO advised that there was no reason to stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine though some countries in Europe and elsewhere have moved to halt its use over concerns about blood clots,” the ministry explained.

Jamaica began its national vaccination programme last Wednesday, a year to the day COVID-19 was first confirmed on the island.