|
 The moves follow reports of rare but serious blood clots, bleeding
and in some cases death after vaccination, mainly in young women.
"From the Charité's point of view, this step is necessary because in
the meantime further cerebral venous thromboses have become known in
women in Germany," a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.
Charite said the action was precautionary while they waited for
final assessments. No complications have occurred in its hospitals
following vaccinations with AstraZeneca.
A spokeswoman for Vivantes clinics also said the move to pause the
shot for younger women was a precautionary measure.
Some 19,000 people work at the Charite hospitals and 17,000 at
Vivantes, which operates clinics as well as care homes.
Tagesspiegel, which first reported the decision, said that around
two thirds of staff at Charite have been vaccinated so far, and 70%
of those workers have received one shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
[to top of second column] |
 Many European countries briefly
stopped using the Anglo-Swedish firm's vaccine
while investigating the blood clot incidents
earlier this month.
Nearly all countries have since resumed use of
the AstraZeneca vaccine. But France broke with
guidance from the European medical regulator and
said on March 19 it should only be given to
people aged 55 or older. France said the
decision was based on evidence that the clotting
affected younger people.
Canadian Health Officials said on Monday they
would stop offering AstraZeneca's shot to people
aged under 55 and require a new analysis of the
shot's benefits and risks based on age and
gender.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Caroline Copley,
editing by Thomas Escritt)
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