Germany stops vaccinating under-60s with AstraZeneca jab

German health officials agreed Tuesday to restrict the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in people under 60, amid fresh concern over unusual blood clots reported in a number of people who received the shots. Health Minister Jens Spahn and state officials agreed unanimously to only give the vaccine to people aged 60 or older, unless they belong to a high-risk category for serious illness from COVID-19 and have agreed to take the vaccine despite the small risk of a serious side-effect.

The move follows the recommendations of Germany's independent vaccine expert panel and comes after the country's medical regulator released new data showing a rise in reported cases of an unusual form of blood clot in the head — known as sinus vein thrombosis — in recent recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The news is a further blow to the vaccine, which is critical to Europe's immunization campaign and a linchpin in the global strategy to get shots to poorer countries. It comes less than two weeks after the EU drug regulator said the vaccine does not increase the overall incidence of blood clots following a similar scare.

The European Medicines Agency said at the time that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks, but it could not rule out a link between the shot and some unusual kinds of clots, and recommended adding a warning about possible rare side-effects. Several German regions — including the capital Berlin and the country's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia — had already suspended use of the shots in younger people earlier Tuesday after the country's medical regulator said its tally of the rare blood clots reported by March 29 had increased to 31.

Some 2.7 million doses of AstraZeneca have been administered in Germany so far. In a statement ahead of the announcement, AstraZeneca said tens of millions of people worldwide have received its vaccines, and noted that the EU regulator and the World Health Organization concluded that the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks.

Among those who will likely be eligible for the shot soon is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 66-year-old said Tuesday's decision was important for ensuring public trust in the vaccine campaign and that she would accept the shot made by the British-Swedish company. “When it's my turn I'll allow myself to be vaccinated, including with AstraZeneca,” Merkel said.

(Image Credit: AP)