According to the state and federal level ministers of Germany, the residents under the age of 60 who have already been administered with a dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be given an alternate follow-up dose. 

Germany to give different second vaccine for those under 60 given AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab

The announcement comes after Germany removed the Astrazeneca jab from the approved vaccines for people under the age of 60 as multiple reports of the formation of blood clots came forward with a possibility of being related to the inoculation.

According to statements provided by Germany’s DPA news agency, the COVID-19 vaccines produced by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are the primary choices as a second dose, reported AFP.

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“The solution that has been found will offer a good level of protection,” Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek told DPA.

The country’s vaccine commission, which recommended similar steps to be taken by the authorities, also suggested that the doses should be spaced out and given after a 12-week gap.

Multiple countries, specifically in the European Union, have restricted the usage of the AstraZeneca jab due to rising concerns around the formation of blood clots in people who fall below the age of 60.

However, the benefits of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the demerits and harm, which have been categorised as a “rare side effect”, according to the European Medicines Agency. 

There were 222 cases of these atypical thromboses out of 34 million AstraZeneca injections carried out in the European Economic Area (EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) and Britain, as of April 4, according to the EMA. And there were 18 deaths, as of March 22, reported AFP.

Most of the cases reported were in women under 60 years of age within two weeks of vaccination.

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According to Germany’s health ministry, some 2.2 million people aged under 60 have received an AstraZeneca dose in recent weeks.

Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine has come under similar suspicion for the same issue, with US health authorities recommending Tuesday that it be paused while they investigate six cases of clotting.

The recently approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the United States has met a similar fate after similar issues of blood clots were noticed. Due to this, US is on the track to halt the usage of the jab to investigate the safety concerns.