Thursday, the British government defended the Oxford Univeristy/AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus, after Denmark and Norway suspended its use, and confirmed its continuation of the kingdom's vaccination campaign with these doses.

"We have made it clear that it is safe and effective ... and when people are asked to come forward to receive it, they should do so with confidence," Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesperson told reporters.

"In fact, we are starting to see the results of the vaccination program, in terms of [a decrease] in the number of cases registered across the country, a decrease in deaths and the number of cases that require hospital treatment," he added.

Britain began the world's first large-scale vaccination campaign against the coronavirus in December, mainly with Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Meanwhile, Danish authorities announced the suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine temporarily after patients developed blood clots after receiving the vaccine, and Norway followed suit.

Boris Johnson's spokesman said Denmark had stressed that there was no confirmed link between the vaccine and blood clots.

Monday, Austria announced the suspension of the use AstraZeneca vaccines after a 49-year-old nurse died from "severe blood clotting problems" days after receiving the vaccine.

Four other European countries, namely Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg, have also suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccines, which was sent to 17 European countries and contains one million doses.

In response to a question about whether medical and scientific advisors in the British government are in contact with Denmark, a Downing Street spokesman said that exchanging information with foreign peers is "a routine practice."