ermany will stop administering AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, a spokesman for the Health Ministry said on Monday, making Germany the latest of several European countries to pause following reports of recipients being taken ill. The ministry said the decision followed a recommendation from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Germany’s authority in charge of vaccines.
“Following a recommendation from the Paul Ehrlich Institute, the government is, out of caution, halting the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Health Minister Jens Spahn would provide further details at a news conference at 4 pm local time (1500 GMT). Several EU countries have called a halt to the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports from Denmark and Norway of possible serious side-effects, including bleeding and blood clots.
EARLIER – Germany continues to use AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine according to the European Medicines Agency’s guidelines despite reports about serious side-effects and a suspension of the vaccine in some countries, the health ministry said.
The reports of potential safety risks are taken seriously and data is examined constantly, a ministry spokesman told Reuters. Further proceedings will be discussed with the European and the national vaccine regulators this week, he said.
With Germany still facing a scarcity of vaccines and a third wave of COVID-19, the government is anxious to ensure that vaccine scepticism does not undermine the roll-out on which it is banking to bring the pandemic under control.
Meanwhile, Germany needs clear guidance from its experts on whether AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is good or not, Markus Soeder, leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), said on Monday.
Noting that some other European Union countries had stopped using the vaccine, Soeder told a news conference: “That’s why there has to be an extra clear statement in Germany: is the vaccine good or bad?”
“I believe we now need statements that this vaccine is effective and can work,” he added.
AstraZeneca Plc said on Sunday a review of safety data of people vaccinated with its COVID-19 vaccine has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.
AstraZeneca’s review, which covered more than 17 million people vaccinated in the United Kingdom and European Union, comes after health authorities in some countries suspended the use of its vaccine over clotting issues.
“A careful review of all available safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and UK with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country,” the company said.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 6,604 to 2,575,849, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday. The reported death toll rose by 47 to 73,418, the tally showed.
Main Photo: A nurse holds the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 during the inoculation of patients in Senftenberg, Germany. EPA-EFE/Sean Gallup / POOL
