Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday that Croatia would continue to administer the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine despite the fact that some 20 countries have suspended vaccination due to blood clotting in some patients.

Although more and more countries are suspending the use of AstraZeneca, Croatia will wait for the opinion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

“The stand of professionals on this matter is that the benefits of vaccination outweigh any risks known to them at the moment,” Plenkovic told the press in Daruvar. “None of them has pointed to us any risks which would lead to the conclusion that vaccination should stop.”

Today Plenkovic took part in an online meeting with prime ministers Sebastian Kurz of Austria, Janez Jansa of Slovenia, Boyko Borissov of Bulgaria, Andrej Babis of the Czech Republic, and Arturs Karins of Latvia.

The six EU member states will demand a corrective mechanism for vaccine distribution, Plenkovic said afterwards. “We agreed to jointly appeal for the creation of a corrective mechanism.”

Thereby, he added, they wish to “compensate for the delay some countries have experienced due to the slower distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine.”

EMA will meet on Thursday to discuss the information gathered and decide if said vaccine has “contributed to thromboembolism in people who have received it,” state agency Hina reported on Tuesday.