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After temporary bans on vaccination for those over 55 at the Charité and Vivantes clinics in Berlin, the entire state declared that vaccines with the corona vaccine would be discontinued. There is also a stop for Canada.
The federal state of Berlin suspends corona vaccines with the active ingredient from the manufacturer AstraZeneca for people under 60 years of age. Berlin health senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD) announced on Tuesday and referred to new data on side effects. He spoke of a “precautionary measure.” The corresponding appointments at the vaccination centers would be canceled for the time being. The German capital region, with around 3.7 million inhabitants, now wants to await deliberations at the federal level and statements from experts, for example, the Paul Ehrlich Institute.
The state took the step after state clinics Charité and Vivantes stopped vaccinating female employees over 55 with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Charité spokeswoman Manuela Zingl said: “From the point of view of the Charité, this step is necessary, since in the meantime more cerebral vein thrombosis has been known in women in Germany.”
North Rhine-Westphalia: Risk of more deaths “too high”
Zingl had emphasized that there were no complications in the Charité after the AstraZeneca vaccinations. However, the university clinic wants to act as a precaution and wait for the final evaluations. So far, the Charité has administered around 16,000 first and second vaccines to its staff during the pandemic. “AstraZeneca accounted for most of this,” Zingl said.
Such a stop could also occur in other federal states. In North Rhine-Westphalia, according to a report by “Zeit”, the heads of five of the six university clinics are already in favor of a temporary suspension of vaccines for younger women with the active principle of AstraZeneca. The risk of more deaths is too high, according to a joint letter to federal and state health ministers.
Stop in Canada
Due to potential side effects, the AstraZeneca vaccine recently underwent a review by the European Medicines Agency EMA, which recommended continued use of the vector vaccine. In Canada, however, experts on Monday spoke in favor of suspending vaccinations for people under 55 with AstraZeneca: Canada’s expert panel for the corona vaccination campaign has safety concerns, the broadcaster reported. CBC public television. The guidelines for handling the vaccine have been modified accordingly. Again, there have been reports of rare blood clots in some immunized patients. According to the CBC, the drug has not yet been widely used in the under-55 age group.
In mid-March, corona vaccines with the AstraZeneca preparation were also suspended for several days in Germany and other European countries, but not in Austria. After further examination, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) declared that the preparation was safe. However, an additional warning of possible rare cases of blood clots in the cerebral veins is added to the notes, the EMA said. AstraZeneca plays an important role in the EU vaccination strategy. Because the preparation does not have to be so cold, GPs can also inject it.
(Ag./Red)
