Norway will drop AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine from its immunisation programme due to concerns over rare side effects, and offer Johnson & Johnson's jab only to volunteers while it remains suspended, the government announced on Wednesday. Prime Minister Erna Solberg told a press conference the decision had been taken in view of the rare but serious side effects associated with both jabs, which both use the same adenovirus technology. The European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization both recommend continued use of the vaccines, arguing that the benefits far outweigh the associated risks. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was never deployed in Norway, but Solberg said the country would hold on to the doses it had already received. "We want to build up backup stocks that we can use if infections increase or if there are failures in deliveries from other vaccine producers," Solberg told reporters. Norway becomes the second European country, after Denmark, to completely drop the AstraZeneca vaccine from its national immunisation programme over rare cases of severe blood clots in people receiving the jab. The decision follows recommendations on Monday from experts who - like...