The shot is the keystone of inoculation campaigns in dozens of countries around the world.

By Marc Santora

LONDON — The suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine by most governments across Europe has further set back an already fraught inoculation campaign on the continent and threatened to rattle the vaccination effort in dozens of other countries around the world.

No country in the European Union is on pace to reach its goal of vaccinating 70 percent of its population by September. Hundreds of millions of people across the continent are still constrained by some of the most severe coronavirus restrictions in the world, and millions more are facing the prospect of rules being tightened further to tackle a third wave of the coronavirus.

The head of the European Medicines Agency, speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, said that while the regulators were still studying concerns about the possibility of rare side effects, including blood clots and abnormal bleeding, there was “no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions.”

“While the investigation is ongoing, we are currently still firmly convinced that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19, with its associated risk of hospitalization, outweigh the risk of the side effects,” said Emer Cooke, the agency’s executive director.

She said that the agency would provide a more detailed assessment after an emergency session on Thursday.

The European Union’s vaccine efforts have been marked by political infighting, mixed messaging to the public, a shortage of supply and a lack of solidarity. And with many member states’ vaccination strategies heavily reliant on the vaccine made by AstraZeneca, the decision to suspend its use while the bloc’s regulatory body looks into concerns about its safety will slow things down even more.

Spain joined France, Italy, Germany and others in halting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and the hesitancy of European governments may undermine public confidence in the vaccine, which could have implications far beyond Europe.

The World Health Organization was quick to react to moves by European governments, hoping to prevent a broader panic. It said on Monday that there was no evidence to suggest that the AstraZeneca vaccine was unsafe.

Millions of people in dozens of countries have received AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine with few reports of ill effects, and its prior testing in tens of thousands of people found it to be safe. All of the governments in Europe that suspended its use said they were acting simply out of an abundance of caution while the bloc’s regulatory body reviewed the data.

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