Some wonder whether there is a political element behind the decision to pause the vaccine

“At this stage, it is likely national regulators are acting conservatively and out of an abundance of caution, in the belief a risk-averse approach will help reassure the public and limit the impact on uptake going forward. But the prospect of a longer review or an outright ban cannot be ruled out,” Federico Santi, senior Europe analyst at Eurasia Group, said in a note Monday.

“Either way, the damage is done. Willingness to take the AstraZeneca vaccine had already been lower than the mRNA vaccines available in the EU due to lower headline efficacy numbers and the initial confusion over its suitability for over 65s,” he said.

Some wonder whether there is a political element behind the decision to pause the vaccine, given earlier disputes over the vaccine.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/16/europes-suspension-of-astrazenecas-covid-vaccine-is-damaging.html