| Just as Europe bolsters its lagging Covid immunization program with another vaccine, one of the existing shots in its medicine cabinet faces new setbacks. The European Union cleared Johnson & Johnson's vaccine on Thursday, following an emergency use authorization in the U.S. last month. Because it's a single-dose inoculation that's easy to transport and store, the new shot could help the bloc close its yawning vaccine gap with the U.K. and the U.S. when deliveries begin this spring. In the near term, however, Europe is lurching toward a new crisis. AstraZeneca, maker of one of the three previously approved shots, is expected to deliver less than half the planned number of doses to the EU in the second quarter, according to projections based on data seen by Bloomberg. Making matters worse, AstraZeneca injections were partially or completely suspended in several EU countries, including Denmark, Italy and Norway, amid concerns about blood clots in a number of recipients.  A patient attends a consultation with a general practitioner before receiving AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine. Photographer: FRED SCHEIBER/AFP The EU's drugs regulator said the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks, and the shot can still be administered while it investigates. Astra's two-shot vaccine was found to be safe in clinical trials, and officials in the U.K.—which is relying heavily on the homegrown product for its immunization program—said there's no evidence of any more blood clots in vaccinated people than would have occurred naturally. Still, the suspensions add to the AstraZeneca shot's image problems in the EU, where confusing trial data raised concerns about its efficacy, especially in the elderly. That prompted health regulators across the region to limit its use to younger people initially. When new data emerged, showing that the vaccine also works in older people, many countries reversed course and approved it for all age groups. The fallout from flip-flops has been compounded by misleading statements from politicians such as French President Emmanuel Macron, who at one point declared the AstraZeneca vaccine "quasi-ineffective" in the elderly. The company's lack of transparency last year over trial snags hasn't helped. Meanwhile the EU is desperately short of vaccines even as Covid regains steam across large parts of the continent, fueled by the spread of coronavirus variants. The J&J shot will eventually help, but not before Europe's woes deepen.—Eric Pfanner | 
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