WHO recommends countries continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine because benefits outweigh the risks

• WHO recommends countries continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine.
• 18 countries stopped using AstraZeneca's vaccine as investigators look into reports of blood clots.
• Blood clots are the third most common cardiovascular disease globally, the WHO said.

The World Health Organization recommends countries continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Eighteen countries, including Germany and Italy, paused the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine as investigators look into reports of blood clots in recipients.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, WHO said COVID-19 vaccine will not "reduce illness or death from other causes." The organization stated venous thromboembolism, or blood clots in the veins, is the third most common cardiovascular disease globally.

"WHO considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends that vaccinations continue," the organization said in a release.

The European Medicines Agency said it would investigate the reports of blood clots and announce the findings on March 18. WHO and the EMA have been in "regular contact," the release said.

WHO said countries routinely investigate potential adverse events during large vaccination campaigns. Investigations, though they don't always reveal vaccines are linked to the adverse health events, are "good practice," the agency said.

Public health experts criticized countries' decision to pause AstraZeneca vaccinations before establishing a clear link with reports of blood clots. Epidemiologists called the decision "baffling," and warned it could fuel vaccine hesitancy.

"Halting a vaccine roll out during a pandemic has consequences. This results in delays in protecting people, and the potential for increased vaccine hesitancy," Dr. Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton, said during a talk at the Science Media Centre.