BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany has suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Monday, making it the last of several European countries to take breaks after reports of blood clotting disorders in receptors.
Spahn said the decision followed a recommendation from the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), the German authority in charge of vaccines, following recently reported cases of thrombosis.
“Today’s decision is purely precautionary. It is a purely technical decision and not a political one. And that’s why I follow here the recommendation of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, ”said Spahn, who added that the cases were very rare.
The PEI said in a statement that more cases of coagulation disorders after vaccination with AstraZeneca shot had been reported since Thursday.
The institute noted a “remarkable buildup” of cases of very rare cerebral venous thrombosis along with the lack of blood platelets known as thrombocytopenia and bleeding.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday that it had reported several cases of immune thrombocytopenia, a lack of platelets in the blood that can cause bleeding and bruising, during the vaccine safety monitoring process.
He added at the time that he would evaluate reports of the condition after AstraZeneca, Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines had been administered.
Several EU countries have called for a halt to the AstraZeneca vaccine after reporting from Denmark and Norway of possible serious side effects, including bleeding and blood clots.
Spahn said Monday that the outcome of the review was open and that he relied on the EMA to make a decision and a recommendation ideally this week.
The EMA has said that, as of March 10, a total of 30 cases of blood clotting had been reported among nearly 5 million people vaccinated with AstraZeneca in the European Economic Area. , which unites 30 European countries.
PEI said people who were still ill four days after receiving a dose of AstraZeneca should seek medical treatment immediately
To date, many millions of people in Britain have received the vaccine from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company.
Spahn said there have been seven cases that could be linked to the venous thrombosis of 1.6 million vaccinations in Germany.
Karl Lauterbach, chief health expert for Chancellor Merkel’s junior coalition partner, SPD, called the suspension a “big mistake” because it undermined confidence in a vaccine that is urgently needed.
The Thuringian state health minister called the decision to stop vaccines against AstraZeneca a “disaster”.
Reports by Thomas Escritt, Ludwig Burger and Caroline Copley; Edited by Maria Sheahan and Nick Macfie