Merkel announces Wednesday that people under the age of 60 will not be vaccinated with the Astrogene vaccine

The The new rule, known as the Standard Vaccine Group (STIKO), will be introduced on Wednesday – Panel of experts to assist the Central Government in its task of controlling epidemics, To recommend.

The panel released a new recommendation

According to the latest scientific knowledge, the vaccine can cause blood clots in the brain in people under 60 years of age. This side effect is very rare but very serious

Said Angela Merkel.

This change caused uncertainty, but there was no other option. The German Chancellor stressed that data on possible side effects could not be hidden, could “be blown under the rug”, and that the greatest confidence in the vaccine could only be created through “openness and transparency”.

Health Minister Jens Spann added: This change will help people over the age of 60 get vaccinated faster, which is especially on the rise in view of third-wave infections. In the second quarter, which begins in April, according to the manufacturer’s confirmation, 15 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine may arrive in Germany, and those over 60 will be “happy” to receive the vaccine, the minister said. He outlined that the vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford and the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, is more effective for the elderly and in some respects more effective than the Pfizer / Bioendech vaccine.

As a general rule, STIKO recommends restricting the use of the vaccine to those over 60 years of age. Possible The estrogen vaccine can be given to people under the age of 60 based on an individual decision based on detailed information on side effects. Jens Spoon added.

He explained that the committee would make another recommendation by the end of April on what vaccines should be given to the two million people who have already been vaccinated with the first dose of AstraZeneca.

The Minister said: So far in Germany In 31 cases a transient link between the use of the estrogen vaccine and cerebral thrombosis was demonstrated. In nine cases vascular damage was fatal. Of the 31 victims, 29 were women between the ages of 20 and 63. Similar cases have occurred overseas, and the use of the vaccine is banned not only in Germany but also in Canada as an example, Jens Spoon added.

Both the Prime Minister and his Minister stressed that the change in the regulation restricting the use of the Astrogene vaccine does not change the goal of making the vaccine available to everyone except children by the end of the summer of September 22nd.

COVER: The newly arrived Astrogenega corona virus vaccine was found on March 30, 2021, in the warehouse of the Somoji County Government Office, Department of Public Health, in Kabosar. Source: MTI / György Varga