Germany curbs use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine: Merkel
Germany has restricted the use of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to people aged 60 and over after recording cases of a rare brain blood clot in people receiving the jab.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the announcement after a meeting with the country’s federal and regional health ministers on Tuesday.
“Experts have gathered over the past few weeks very rare but very serious cases of thrombosis in people who have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca. These are findings that the Vaccine Committee, and ultimately we too, cannot ignore,” Merkel said.
“We have agreed that the federal states can already include 60 to 69 year-olds in their vaccination campaign with this vaccine," she added.
Merkel also said the restriction on the use of AstraZeneca would be implemented from Wednesday and that she was open to being vaccinated with the jab.
German health officials had earlier said that under-60s could decide to take the vaccine but only following consultation with the doctors carrying out the vaccination and with an individual risk analysis.
The European country recorded 31 cases of a rare brain blood clot in people receiving the jab and in nine of the cases, the affected people lost their lives.
More than a dozen European states have halted their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine while some nations have resumed vaccinations following assurances from the World Health Organization.
Merkel has come under growing fire for her alleged failure to come up with a plan to reverse the increasing spread of coronavirus infections in Germany.
Merkel’s conservative bloc is expected to face their worst-ever election result in September considering frustrations over a slow vaccination campaign, a face mask corruption scandal involving two conservative legislators, and the absence of a clear timetable out of the crisis.
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