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(Adds latest data, government comment on AstraZeneca vaccine)
By Inti Landauro and Joan Faus
MADRID, March 11 (Reuters) - Spain has registered no cases
of blood clots related to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine
so far and will continue administering the shot, Health Minister
Carolina Darias said on Thursday.
She spoke shortly after Danish health authorities suspended
using the vaccine produced by Anglo-Swedish firm AstraZeneca
after several cases of blood clots, including one death.
Darias told La Sexta TV that minor side-effects from the
shot had been reported in Spain and that she was aware of cases
of blood clots in Austria, but "so far, no causal relation
between the vaccine and the blood clot events has been
established".
Europe's EMA drug regulator subsequently backed the vaccine,
saying its benefits outweighed the risks.
Spain, which has only approved the shot for 18- to 55-year-
olds, said it would wait for more data from the EMA before
considering whether to follow other European countries and
broaden the age range.
Infections have fallen to their lowest since August after
retreating rapidly from a third wave that peaked in January, but
the rate of decline is slowing.
As measured over the past 14 days the number of cases per
100,000 people reached 132 on Thursday, edging down from 134 the
day before.
The government reported 6,255 new infections, bringing the
total to nearly 3.2 million, while deaths increased by 166 to
72,085.
With transmission falling and the vaccine roll-out gathering
pace, some regions are lifting restrictions.
From March 15, Catalonia will allow non-essential small
shops to open at weekends and let people who live together move
freely within the region. Residents are currently confined to
their county except for work or health reasons.
With an average of 170 cases per 100,00 people in the past
14 days, Catalonia has one of Spain's highest infection rates.
During two upcoming holiday weekends all mainland Spanish
regions apart from Madrid have agreed to ban non-essential
travel across their borders to prevent a resurgence.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Joan Faus and Nathan Allen;
Editing by Andrei Khalip, Mark Heinrich and Giles Elgood)
