Image source, Reuters

We're pausing our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic for now. Before we go, here are Monday's main stories again:

• Several large EU countries - Germany, France and Italy - have halted their roll-outs of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, after a series of incidents in Europe involving blood clots
• Other European nations, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and the Republic of Ireland, paused their roll-outs of the Oxford vaccine earlier
• The World Health Organization says there's no evidence that the incidents are caused by the vaccine. It says it's reviewing reports linked to the jab but that it's important that vaccinations continue
• Cabinet ministers and other senior officials in the UK have told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that Boris Johnson should have been tougher last autumn to prevent more coronavirus deaths
• White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci has warned that the US is "not in the end zone yet", and that it shouldn't make the same mistakes as Europe

Monday's live updates were brought to you by Julian Joyce, Lauren Turner, Joshua Nevett, Tiffany Wertheimer, Paulin Kola, Mal Siret, Ashitha Nagesh and Patrick Jackson.

Hugh Schofield
BBC News, Paris

Image source, EPA

More than half of France’s entire population – 35 million people, a record – watched President Macron on the evening of 16 March last year, telling them what most suspected was coming: that from noon the next day they were to be confined to their homes.

The previous days had seen a growing sense of foreboding, as first schools were shut, then cinemas – then bars and restaurants.

On the morning of Tuesday the 17th there was a rush on the trains, as Parisians and other city-dwellers sought refuge with relatives in the country.

And then the uncanny stillness descended.

It was to last not two weeks – as President Macron initially announced – but two months.

A year on France has been through a second lockdown, and is now under a night-time curfew.

The number of daily new cases is around 25,000, and in some areas like Paris the number of Covid patients in critical beds is reaching saturation point.

The vaccination programme is slowly moving into gear, with five million people so far having received at least one jab: but President Macron’s promise to inoculate all those who wish to be inoculated by the end of the summer will require a very rapid increase in the pace.

Canals, pathways and squares in Venice are largely deserted as Italy closes for fear of a "new wave" of coronavirus.

Shops, restaurants and schools are closed across much of the country.

For three days over Easter, 3-5 April, there will be a total shutdown.

Holly Honderich
BBC News, Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

While US President Joe Biden urges all Americans to get a Covid-19 vaccine, some 25% of House members have so far avoided the jab – despite Congress having its own supply of the vaccine.

According to reporting from Axios, the vaccine refusal in Congress is higher among white Republicans than any other demographic group.

The hesitancy seems to be slowing the full return of Congress, which would see all 435 members back in the chamber together.

The top Republican in the chamber, Kevin McCarthy, sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week, saying it was time to “return to regular order”.

But some top Democrats have pushed back, saying the House is operating in accordance with public health guidelines.

Image source, Reuters

Reaction is continuing to come in to countries such as France and Germany halting their roll-out of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton, says the decision is "baffling".

"The data we have suggests that numbers of adverse events related to blood clots are the same (and possibly, in fact lower) in vaccinated groups compared to unvaccinated populations," he says.

"The UK MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency], WHO [World Health Organization] and also the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis have recommended continuing the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine roll out.

“Halting a vaccine roll-out during a pandemic has consequences. This results in delays in protecting people, and the potential for increased vaccine hesitancy, as a result of people who have seen the headlines and understandably become concerned.

"There are no signs yet of any data that really justify these decisions.”

BBC Midlands Today

One of the world's leading Irish dancers has delivered nearly 2,000 Covid-19 vaccines.

Alasdair Spencer, from Rugby, has entertained packed audiences as the Dark Lord in Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance show.

The volunteer said he was "a little nervous" about giving the jab to someone for the first time, but "after doing them a few times you get used to it".

Vaccination programme clinical director Dr Norman Byrd said: "We've almost vaccinated 30,000 people in Rugby and the vast, vast majority of those have been done by people who aren't medically trained."

Public Health England has published the latest coronavirus figures.

Across the UK, there have been 64 further deaths within 28 days of a positive test and 5,089 new cases.

According to the latest vaccination figures, more than 24.4 million people have had their first dose, and more than 1.6 million have had their second dose.

BBC Breakfast

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British policing minister Kit Malthouse has backed Met Commissioner Cressida Dick over how the force handled Saturday's vigil in Clapham Common to remember Sarah Everard.

He said while the "footage was alarming" and "very hard to watch", it was "worth reflecting we've asked the police to do a hugely difficult and challenging job in this pandemic".

He said he understood "people's anger about what they saw" and that is why there will be an independent investigation, which the Met has welcomed.

"If there are lessons to be learned, they will be learned," he added.

Just to recap then, Germany, France and Italy have halted rollouts of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after a series of incidents in Europe involving blood clots.

They join several smaller European nations who have halted vaccinations as a precaution while checks are made.

The World Health Organization has said there is no evidence that the incidents are caused by the vaccine.

It said it was reviewing reports relating to the jab, but it was important vaccinations continued.

It was good practice to investigate potential adverse events, it added.

Read our full story here

Image source, Reuters

We can bring you more on France’s decision to halt use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement in a news conference on Monday, following similar decisions by other European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands.

"The decision - which has been taken out of precaution - is to suspend vaccinating with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the hope that we can resume quickly if the EMA [the EU’s medicines regulator] gives the green light," Macron said.

"We are therefore suspending its use until tomorrow [Tuesday] afternoon."

On the question of coronavirus restrictions, Macron said his government would have to decide in the next few days if another lockdown was needed to curb the disease.

The suspension of the AstraZeneca jab will slow down the country's vaccination programme, at a time when coronavirus continues to spread.

Image source, Reuters

The White House chief medical adviser has warned that coronavirus safety measures must continue, otherwise the US could follow Europe in struggling to contain another wave of the pandemic.

Dr Anthony Fauci told NBC's Meet the Press the US was "not in the end zone yet" and that pulling away from the public health measures early could prolong the pandemic.

His warning comes as a number of US states begin to lift restrictions.

Fauci told Fox News that Europe's most recent spike of cases was partly due to safety measures being relaxed.

"They [Europeans] thought they were home free and they weren't, and now they are seeing an increase," he said, adding, "If you wait just a bit longer to give the vaccine program a chance to increase the protection in the community, then it makes pulling back much less risky."

France and Italy have joined Germany in becoming the latest countries to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the country would stop administering the vaccine pending an assessment by the European Union's medicine regulator on Tuesday.

Italy's medicines authority halted the use of the vaccine nationwide.

The decisions come despite the reassurances of UK regulators and the World Health Organization, which have both said there is no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots.

Image source, EPA

A prosecutor in northern Italy has ordered the seizure of nearly 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the death of a man who received the jab.

The prosecutor in the Piedmont region opened a criminal investigation over the death of Sandro Tognatti, a 57-year-old music teacher.

His death prompted the suspension of the vaccine’s use in the region on Sunday.

The seizure of the doses is another setback for Italy’s vaccination programme, which has been delayed by supply issues in Europe.

A similar seizure was ordered in Sicily last week following the deaths of two men who had recently been inoculated.

But the Italian government said there was no evidence of a link between the deaths and the jabs.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

A number of countries have decided to suspend use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution following reports that some people have suffered blood clots after being given the jab.

But is it a case of being too cautious? Are these governments missing the bigger picture?

The decision has been made on the basis of the precautionary principle - a well-established approach in science and medicine that stresses the need to pause and review when evidence is uncertain.

But in a fast-moving pandemic - when each decision can have major consequences - it is an approach which can sometimes do more harm than good.

Read on

Image source, Reuters

A top Norwegian health expert has explained why the country decided to suspend its use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Sara Watle, a senior physician at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said use of the vaccine had been put on hold while more information was gathered.

Several people in Norway became very sick days after receiving AstraZeneca jabs, including one person who died of a brain haemorrhage, she said.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme, Watle said the cases were “young individuals” who had suffered blood clots and bleeding about five to 10 days after vaccination.

“So, we’re looking at very rare events that all came at the same time in our country,” she said.

When asked if these sorts of medical issues happened anyway, she said: “Yes, they absolutely do and that’s why we need to look more into these events.”

Norway was one of the first countries to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over concerns about possible side effects.

On Monday the World Health Organization said it had seen no evidence to suggest these reported medical issues had been caused by the vaccine. That view has been mirrored by regulators in the UK and the EU.

Image source, Reuters

Germany has announced it will stop administering the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine immediately, over concerns it is causing blood clots.

The Health Ministry said it followed a recommendation from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, which advises the German government on vaccinations.

Germany has become the latest European country to suspend the use of the vaccine - the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Ireland have also paused as a precaution.

Bulgaria and Iceland have also temporarily halted inoculations with the vaccine, while the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia have postponed the launch of their rollouts.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said there is no evidence that the vaccine causes blood clots.

Read more on this story here.

Image source, Reuters

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni says he is still "looking at which of the vaccines" to go for, days after his government kicked off mass vaccination against Covid-19 using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Presidents across the continent have been publicly receiving the jabs to counter scepticism about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

In a TV address on Sunday night, President Museveni said he had not yet been vaccinated because he is "quite careful and well protected by the system".

"But secondly I'm also looking at which of the vaccines should I go for. The Johnson & Johnson, the Chinese, the Russian," he added.

He said the first lady, Janet Museveni, had also not been vaccinated.

Health Minister Jane Aceng last month denied media reports that the president and his inner circle had been secretly vaccinated.

Uganda plans to vaccinate 49.6% of its population in a phased manner.

It received 864,000 vaccine doses from the Covax scheme earlier this month and expects an additional supply of 2.6 million doses in June.

Image source, PA Media

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has sought to allay concerns about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine, after multiple countries suspended its use.

When asked about reports of possible side effects, Johnson said the vaccine was safe to use.

"In the MHRA [the UK’s medicines regulator], we have one of the toughest and most experienced regulators in the world. They see no reason at all to discontinue the vaccination programme," he told reporters on Monday afternoon.

"So we continue to be very confident about the programme and it's great to see it being rolled out at such speed across the UK."

The AstraZeneca jab has been the linchpin of the UK's vaccination programme, with the government ordering 100 million doses.

The UK medicines regulator said evidence "does not suggest" the jab causes blood clots.

The Visual and Data Journalism Team

More than 335 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines have been administered, in more than 100 countries worldwide.

However, there are vast differences in the pace of progress in different parts of the world. Some countries have secured and delivered doses to a large proportion of their population - but many more are still waiting for their first shipments to arrive.

With an aim to give doses to nearly every adult around the world, this is the largest-scale vaccination programme in history.

The US and China have administered the highest number of doses, 107 million and 53 million respectively. India ranks third, with almost 30 million.

But while nearly all of Europe and the Americas have begun vaccination campaigns, only a handful of African countries have.

• Read more on this story here, which uses charts and maps to track the progress of Covid vaccination programmes