African Union: Use of AstraZeneca COVID Shot Should Continue

FILE PHOTO: Biomedical engineers pack a consignment of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines under the COVAX scheme against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), before distribution at the Kitengela cold rooms stores in Kitengela, outside Nairobi, Kenya March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Biomedical engineers pack a consignment of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines under the COVAX scheme against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), before distribution at the Kitengela cold rooms stores in Kitengela, outside Nairobi, Kenya March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo
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African Union: Use of AstraZeneca COVID Shot Should Continue

FILE PHOTO: Biomedical engineers pack a consignment of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines under the COVAX scheme against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), before distribution at the Kitengela cold rooms stores in Kitengela, outside Nairobi, Kenya March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Biomedical engineers pack a consignment of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines under the COVAX scheme against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), before distribution at the Kitengela cold rooms stores in Kitengela, outside Nairobi, Kenya March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo

The African Union said on Thursday that African countries should continue to use AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, echoing the World Health Organization (WHO) by saying the shot’s benefits outweighed risks.

The recommendation comes after more than a dozen European countries suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine amid concerns over the risk of blood clots.

Africa has lagged wealthier parts of the world in vaccinations, with many countries on the continent using free AstraZeneca shots distributed by a global scheme co-led by the WHO to kick-start immunization campaigns.

John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news conference the “benefits still outweigh the risks” and countries should “move forward”.

The head of the disease control body added that any adverse reactions should be monitored and reported.

“I encourage countries...to continue with their vaccination campaigns and not to pause, as we are in a race against time,” the WHO’s Africa director Matshidiso Moeti told a separate briefing. “The more people are protected, the less likelihood of mutations producing more dangerous variants of the virus.”

AstraZeneca said on Sunday that a review of safety data of more than 17 million people in the United Kingdom and European Union who had been given its vaccine had shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.

The European Medicines Agency is investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine in the 27-nation EU. It said it has so far found no causal link.

In Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo has delayed the rollout of AstraZeneca’s shot, citing the suspensions in Europe.

But other countries are forging ahead. Angolan Health Minister Silvia Lutucuta said on Thursday her country had not recorded any serious side-effects from AstraZeneca’s vaccine so far. She said doses shipped to Angola were from a different batch to ones distributed in Europe.

Muluken Yohannes, a senior adviser to Ethiopia’s health ministry, said the government there would continue using the AstraZeneca shot. “It is too early to associate the link between the current problem and the vaccine,” he told Reuters.



Iran Says Continuing Uranium Enrichment on Its Soil 'Red Line'

People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Iran Says Continuing Uranium Enrichment on Its Soil 'Red Line'

People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Iran's right to enrich uranium on its soil was a "red line" after the United States submitted its proposal for a new nuclear deal.

"Continuing enrichment on Iranian soil is our red line," Araghchi said while on a visit to Lebanon, adding that his country will respond to the proposal in the coming days based on Iran's "principled positions and the interests of the Iranian people".

US President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that Iran will not be allowed any enrichment of uranium under a potential deal with Washington.

Araghchi said the US proposal, submitted through mediator Oman, has "many ambiguities and questions".

On Saturday, Iran said it received "elements" of a US proposal for a nuclear deal following five rounds of talks that started in April and were mediated by Oman.

Uranium enrichment has remained a key point of contention between Washington and Tehran in the talks to seal a nuclear deal, with Iran defending what it says is its right to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy program and the US calling it a "red line".

"We will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium in Iran. However, we are ready to take steps... to ensure that this enrichment will not lead to the production of nuclear weapons," Araghchi said.

Araghchi was visiting Beirut following a stop in Cairo on Monday, where he met with Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Grossi on Monday called for more transparency from Iran following a leaked report that showed Tehran had increased production of highly enriched uranium.

The IAEA report showed that Iran has ramped up production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity -- close to the roughly 90 percent level needed for atomic weapons.

Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.