Provinces Pause AstraZeneca Shots for Those Under 55, B.C. Tightens Restrictions

A vial of some of the first AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses that Canada secured through a deal with the Serum Institute of India at a facility in Milton, Ont., Canada, on March 3, 2021. Carlos Osorio - POOL/The Canadian Press

Canadian provinces suspended use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in people under age 55 on Monday, acting on an advisory committee’s concerns about a possible link between the shot and rare blood clots.

Meanwhile, British Columbia imposed new public-health measures for the next three weeks to slow the rapid spread of the virus, as it announced 2,518 new cases over the past three days.