German commission: AstraZeneca no longer for under 60s | Abroad

German media report this. The reason for the suspension of AstraZeneca is the finding of dozens of cases of thrombosis in the brain. The Stiko reports that ‘it acts on the basis of currently available data on the occurrence of rare but very serious thromboembolic side effects’.

The Paul Ehrlich Institute, a medical supervisor, earlier in the day reported 31 cases of brain thrombosis in people given the vaccine from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company. With the exception of two cases, these were women, aged 20 to 63 years. Nine people have died.

Because of that news, federal states including Brandenburg and cities such as Berlin and Munich decided not to give anyone an AstraZeneca shot for the time being. Now the most important national advisory committee is backing this up. The newspaper BILD speaks of ‘breaking news’ and has set up an online live broadcast.

Possibly Pfizer

For the administration of the second dose for people under 60 years of age who have already received a first dose of the Astrazeneca vaccine, Stiko – an independent committee of scientists coordinated by the Robert Koch Institute – plans to issue an additional recommendation by the end of April. to do. These people may receive a second shot from Pfizer. That would also provide a significant amount of protection.

Exactly how things will continue in Germany is not yet known at the time of writing. Chancellor Angela Merkel and health minister Jens Spahn will meet with state prime ministers on Tuesday evening about the policy surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine from now on. A press conference has been announced.

Incidentally, AstraZeneca has today changed the name of the vaccine to Vaxzevria. Why that happens is not entirely clear.

Scandinavia and Canada

Previously, numerous European countries, including the Netherlands, temporarily stopped using AstraZeneca after rare cases of thrombosis in combination with reduced platelets. That gave a serious clinical picture. Denmark and other Scandinavian countries were the first to pause vaccination. The European medicines agency EMA then indicated that the vaccine is ‘safe and effective’ and that the benefits outweigh the risks. A causal relationship with the blood clots was not found.

Since then, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain have started injecting again, while Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway have still not resumed vaccination with AstraZeneca despite the EMA advice. Canada decided on Monday to discontinue the pharmaceutical’s vaccines for under-55s because of “substantial uncertainty about the benefits of these vaccines for adults under 55 given the potential risks,” said Vaccine Commission Vice Chairman Dr. Shelley Deeks.

–