Now Germany to halt AstraZeneca Covid vaccine for under-60s over blood clot fears – despite regulators saying it’s safe

GERMANY is to stop giving AstraZeneca Covid jabs to the under-60s over blood clot fears – despite regulators saying it’s completely safe.

The suspension comes despite Germany and other European countries struggling to ramp up chaotic vaccine programmes, which lag far behind those in the UK and America, and a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases.

AP

AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine won’t be used on under-60s in Germany[/caption]

The shock decision comes days after France, Italy and Germany resumed their rollout out of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the EU finally declared it safe.

The trio’s humiliating U-turn had come after all three countries led the way in suspending use of the jab amid an unfounded safety scare about the link with blood-clots.

But tonight, in another about-face, German health officials agreed to restrict the use of AstraZeneca doses in people under 60.

This is due to fresh concern over unusual blood clots reported in a tiny number of those who received the shots.

Health Minister Jens Spahn and state officials agreed unanimously to only give the vaccine to people aged 60 or older.

That’s unless they belong to a high-risk category for serious illness from Covid and have agreed with their doctor 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.

It 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.

But in a statement ahead of Germany’s announcement, AstraZeneca said tens of millions of people worldwide have received its vaccines.

It noted that the EU regulator and the World Health Organisation concluded that the benefits of the shot outweigh any risks.

The company also said it would continue to work with German authorities to address any questions they might have.

AstraZenaca is also analysing its own records to understand whether “the rare blood clots reported occur more commonly than would be expected naturally in a population of millions of people.”

The decision to bar under-60s from the jab comes despite fears that Germany could soon see 100,000 new daily Covid infections with the third wave the country’s worst, a top disease official has warned.

Frustration has grown over the sluggish vaccine roll-out in Germany and just 10 per cent of the population have received at least a first dose – far fewer than Britain, the United States or Israel.

The number of new confirmed infections in Germany has jumped in recent weeks, driven by a more transmissible variant known as B117 – or Kent variant – and easing of lockdown measures.

The Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases is now warning German’s third Covid wave could be its worse, with its head Lothar Wieler say of 100,000 deaths a day is on the cards.

“There are clear signals that this wave will be worse than the first two waves. We have some very difficult weeks ahead of us,” he said.

If Germans used the Easter period to further reduce contact, it would at least be possible to lessen the severity of a third wave, he pleaded.