Ireland temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday following a report from Norway of patients developing blood clots after inoculation.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency on Saturday said there were four new cases of serious blood clotting in adults after taking the jabs.

The Irish National Immunization Advisory Committee (NIAC) made the directive as a precaution though it "has not been concluded that there is any link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and these cases," it said in a statement.

Ireland's NIAC  was scheduled to meet again Sunday to further deliberate the suspension of the vaccine, it added.

Ireland is the latest in the string of European countries who have decided to partially or fully suspend the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of patients developing blood clots after vaccination.

Health authorities in Austria were the first to sound the alarm on the potential dangers of the vaccine, suspending on Tuesday one batch of doses.

Italy on Friday banned the use of vaccines from a specific batch of AstraZeneca doses following the death of a serviceman in Sicily, who had died of cardiac arrest one day after receiving his first dose of the vaccine.

Denmark however on Thursday became the first European country to temporarily suspend the entire rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The European Union's medicines regulator, the EMA, is currently investigating whether the shot could be linked to a number of reports of blood clots.

(With input from agencies)