Slovenia has temporarily suspended use of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) Covid-19 vaccine after a 20-year-old woman died of a brain hemorrhage and blood clots just days after getting the jab.
"The health ministry has called on the Public Health Institute to temporarily suspend vaccinations with the Janssen vaccine until all details related to this case are cleared up," Health Minister Janez Poklukar told a news conference in Ljubljana.
Experts advising the government recommended the suspension after learning that "there could be an undesired link between the death and the vaccination," said Bojana Beovic, who heads the expert group.
Media reported the woman had been hospitalised on Monday in severe condition, only days after receiving a Johnson & Johnson jab.
One death has already been confirmed as linked to the vaccine in Slovenia, where more than 120,000 people have received it.
Some 47% of the country's two million people have been fully vaccinated, one of the lowest levels in the European Union.
In an attempt to boost numbers, the government announced earlier this month that all public employees would need to be vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 to continue working from 1 October.
Demand for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has increased over the last weeks because it is the only one that does not require two jabs.
The European Medicines Agency said in June that EU states must use all the vaccine options available to fight the coronavirus pandemic, and it was too early to tell if a particular type was best.
The comments came as several countries limited the use of so-called viral vector jabs such as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson due to a link with rare blood clots, and opted instead for Messenger RNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna.
The regulator has currently approved those four vaccines for use in the EU.
France to extend state of emergency until next summer
France plans to extend its state of emergency until next year's summer to deal with the continuing coronavirus epidemic, government spokesman Gabriel Attal has said.
"What we will propose to the parliament is to maintain for several more months, until the summer, the possibility of using it", Mr Attal told reporters after a cabinet meeting when asked about the state of emergency and use of a health pass to gain access to venues such as restaurants, bars and cinemas.
This would mean that the government would keep the power to extend or reinstate restrictive measures such as lockdowns, limits on crowd movements and the health pass that currently is required until 15 November.
Singapore reports highest single-day rise in virus cases
Singapore's health ministry has reported 2,268 new coronavirus cases, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic.
The country also recorded eight new deaths due to the disease.
A recent rise in cases after the relaxation of some Covid-19 measures has prompted Singapore to pause further reopening.
More than 80% of its population has been vaccinated against the virus.
From this week, Singapore tightened some curbs such as limiting social gatherings to two people and making work from home a default.
US CDC calls for increased vaccinations among pregnant people
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a health advisory to increase Covid-19 vaccinations among people who are pregnant, recently pregnant or trying to become pregnant, to prevent serious illness and deaths.
The CDC said its data showed only 31% of pregnant people have been vaccinated against the virus.
