France, Germany, Italy and Spain co-ordinated their decision to temporarily suspend the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in an effort to help protect public confidence, France’s industry minister said, as Sweden became the latest nation to suspend use of the shot.

“You can imagine that we spoke with Italy, we spoke with Spain, we spoke with Germany and it’s no coincidence if these four countries, on the same day, announced the same decision,” Agnès Pannier-Runacher told France Info radio on Tuesday.

At least 16 European countries have now suspended or limited use of the jab due to concerns about possible side effects, even though the European Medicines Agency has said there was no evidence of a link between the vaccine and the reported incidents of blood clots. On Monday it called for vaccinations to continue, stating that the risk-benefit ratio remained in favour of administering the shot.