Ireland suspended the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on Sunday, following reports of blood clots in adults who received the shot in Norway.

"The administration of Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is temporarily deferred from this morning, on Sunday 14 March," a health ministry spokesman told AFP.

The move came after Ireland's National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) recommended suspending the AstraZeneca rollout "on the precautionary principal" after "a report from the Norwegian Medicines Agency of four new reports of serious blood clotting events in adults after vaccination".

"", Ireland's deputy chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said in a statement It has not been concluded that there is any link" between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the blood clot cases and action has been taken "pending receipt of further information.

The NIAC is due to meet on Sunday morning and to issue a further statement on the matter.

Some 570 000 doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in Ireland to date, according to government data last updated on Wednesday.

A total of 109 000 of those doses have been manufactured by the Anglo-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca.