Denmark has suspended use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in a “precautionary” move after one person died in the country with blood clots following inoculation, Financial Times reports.

At least five other European countries have halted the use of a batch of the jab, after reports of blood clots sparked a safety probe from the European drugs watchdog.

“Right now we need all the vaccines we can get, ” said Soren Brostrom, head of the Danish health authority. “Therefore pausing one of the vaccines is not an easy decision.”

Brostrom added: “Exactly because we are vaccinating so many, we also need to respond quickly when there is knowledge of possible serious side effects.” The authority said it was acting based on the “precautionary principle”.

All Danes who have received the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab in the past two weeks will receive a letter from health authorities telling them about possible signs of blood clots and asking them to contact their doctors if they suffer any new or surprising symptoms.

Norway and Iceland have also suspended use of the jab. Sweden’s medical products agency told local media it did not think there was “sufficient evidence” to suspend the vaccine.