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| - Germany's vaccine commission on Tuesday recommended suspending use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus jab for under-60s, as further reports emerged of blood clots among younger people who have received it. The decision was taken "based on currently available data on the occurrence of rare but very severe thromboembolic side effects" in younger vaccinated people, the commission known as STIKO said. It intends to make another recommendation by the end of April on how to proceed with people under 60 who have already received a first dose of the vaccine, it said. The cities of Berlin and Munich had announced earlier that they were suspending the vaccine for younger people. "We are provisionally stopping vaccinations with AstraZeneca for under-60s," said Berlin's health minister Dilek Kalayci, citing "new data about side effects". She said it was a "precautionary measure" pending an official recommendation from federal health authorities. The southern city of Munich and the northeastern region of Brandenburg have also suspended use of the jab. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Health Minister Jens Spahn are meeting state premiers in emergency talks over the vaccine. "We have no serious cases of side effects in Berlin," said Kalayci, adding that "everyone who has already received a first jab of AstraZeneca has very good protection". Germany's medicines regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), has now reported 31 cases of blood clots in people who have received AstraZeneca, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Tuesday. Almost all cases are reportedly in younger and middle-aged women, prompting several German hospitals to suspend the use of the jab for women under 55 this week. A clinic in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, said it was halting AstraZeneca jabs to investigate two reported cases of thrombosis, while Berlin's Charite hospital extended its suspension to all under-60s following Kalayci's announcement. On Monday, Canada also recommended halting the use of the jab for under-55s "pending further analysis". The AstraZeneca vaccine has had something of a rollercoaster ride. Britain, which developed it, staunchly supports its use, South Africa has rejected it outright, and more than a dozen EU nations suspended shots in mid-March before most recommencing rollouts, albeit with a patchwork of age restrictions. France has limited its use to over-55s, while Spain to under-65s. Germany's vaccination campaign has been sluggish, with official figures showing around 11 percent of the population have received a first dose so far. kih-fec/spm
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