The Astrazeneca vaccine has been approved in the EU since January 30, 2021.
The vaccination was briefly suspended due to reports of thrombosis.
Vaccination will continue from March 19th.
As of March 9, 2021, 5,555,420 people nationwide have received the first dose of vaccine so far, and 2,605,818 people have already received the second dose, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
There is no age limit for the Moderna and Biontech preparations, but according to the recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO), the Astrazeneca agent was not vaccinated to people over 65 - until the beginning of March.
On March 4th it was announced that the STIKO is lifting the age limit.
Concerns about efficacy in the elderly prompted the initial vaccination recommendation.
A Scottish publication showed, however: The Astrazeneca vaccine develops an effectiveness of up to 94 percent after the first vaccine dose - even in older people.
Due to the suspicion of possible serious side effects, the vaccination with the Astrazeneca vaccine was suspended on March 16, 2021 in Germany, as reported by the Tagesschau.
The vaccination will continue from Friday, March 19th.
You can find out more about the background here.
Update from March 19, 2021:
“Following the decision of the European Medicines Agency EMA and consultations with the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), the federal and state health ministers therefore jointly decided on March 18, 2021 to suspend
vaccinations as a precaution to resume with the vaccine from AstraZeneca from March 19, 2021,
”says the Federal Ministry of Health.
The Astrazeneca package insert would now include warnings, reports the Tagesschau and quoted Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn: "Citizens can rely on being transparently informed." After the vaccinations were suspended on Monday, four days were lost to catch up, said the minister.
It is now a matter of "that we continue vaccinating quickly", quoted tagesschau.de Spahn further.
A safety assessment by the EMA concluded that the benefits of the Astrazeneca active ingredient outweigh the risks.
According to the Tagesschau, the president of the Paul Ehrlich Institute responsible for vaccines, Klaus Cichutek, pointed out the relevance of resuming vaccinations.
However, it is important to inform the population about possible risks such as the development of a thrombosis.
Shortness of breath, chest pain, or punctiform bleeding under the skin four to 16 days after vaccination may indicate this.
This is a "very rare event,"
said Cichutek.
In Germany, 13 people had cerebral vein thrombosis after an Astrazeneca vaccination.
Twelve women and one man were affected.
Update from March 15, 2021
: After several cases of severe blood clots had occurred in Denmark after vaccination with the Astrazeneca active ingredient, according to the local authorities, the Astrazeneca vaccination was discontinued there.
Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, Ireland and the Netherlands are also currently refraining from vaccinating with Astrazeneca.
Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg, on the other hand, suspended the use of a certain Astrazeneca batch, according to the Tagesschau, and Italy and Romania stopped using another batch.
Now Germany is also temporarily refraining from vaccinating the preparation on
the grounds that there could be an increased risk of blood clots after the vaccination.
Against the background, the Paul Ehrlich Institute sees further examinations necessary, the Federal Ministry of Health announced according to the Tagesschau.
Update from March 10, 2021
: On March 4, the RKI published information that corona vaccinations with the Astrazeneca vaccine are now also recommended by the STIKO for people over 65 years of age.
"In view of the extraordinary situation and the large, understandable need for information of the population, the STIKO announces in advance - in spite of the statement procedure that is still required - that it decided yesterday to recommend vaccination with the Astrazeneca vaccine for all age groups according to the approval" it says on the part of the RKI.
New study data from England and Scotland have shown that the Astrazeneca vaccine is also
very
effective against corona in older people
- even after the first vaccination dose.
"The effectiveness has been impressively demonstrated in relation to the prevention of Covid-19 diseases and, in particular, in relation to the prevention of severe disease courses," the RKI continues.
Update from February 25, 2021
: Even the first of the two corona vaccinations with the preparation from Astrazeneca * should be up to 94 percent effective, as Scottish researchers have found out.
As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) further informs, several Scottish universities and the Scottish Health Authority took into account the data of around 5.4 million people who were vaccinated against corona in Scotland between December 8 and February 15 in their survey .
The promising preliminary results of the analysis four weeks after the first vaccine injection:
The administration of the first Astrazeneca vaccine dose reduced the risk of hospitalization for Covid-19 by up to 94 percent.
The vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer had reduced the risk of hospitalization with the first dose by around 85 percent, as the FAZ informed.
"These results have shown a substantial effect in reducing the risk of hospitalization through a single dose of vaccine across the Scottish population," the FAZ quotes Jim McMenamin, head of the coronavirus department of the Scottish health authority Public Health Scotland.
+
In the UK, the Astrazeneca vaccine is given with no age limit.
© Andrew Matthews / dpa
WHO advocates Astrazeneca vaccination across all age groups
Update from February 12, 2021
: The Standing Vaccination Commission STIKO recommends vaccination with the Astrazeneca vaccine in Germany only for 18- to 64-year-olds.
The reason for this is the so far not clearly clarified effectiveness of the preparation in older people, it is said.
The World Health Information (WHO) advocates that the Astrazeneca vaccination should be used in all age groups.
As the Tagesschau reported, the first studies from South Africa had shown significantly less effectiveness in preventing relatively mild symptoms of the disease.
But there is no evidence that the vaccine does not protect against severe courses of Covid-19
, quoted the Tagesschau Alejandro Cravioto, the chairman of an expert council that advises the WHO.
In addition, the WHO states - contrary to the current STIKO recommendations - that it is likely that the Astrazeneca active ingredient will also be effective and safe for people over 65 years of age.
Astrazeneca vaccination only for younger people?
In Italy only people up to 55 years of age are vaccinated
Article dated February 4, 2021
: The European Medicines Agency, EMA, announced at the end of January that it had checked all the documents and was recommending the Astrazeneca vaccine for anyone aged 18 and over.
As the Ärzteblatt reports, there is a certain amount of uncertainty about the effect of the Astrazeneca vaccination on older people
.
People over the age of 55 would have been poorly represented in the admission studies.
A good antibody reaction was observed in the older study participants after vaccination, but some European countries are playing it safe.
The Italian authorities, for example, recommend the Astrazeneca vaccination only for people between the ages of 18 and 55, until more well-founded data are available.
The mRNA vaccines * should be administered to the elderly or people with previous illnesses, as the medical journal quoted the Italian drug agency Aifa.
And in Germany, too, the Astrazeneca vector vaccine (AZD1222) is not intended to be used in all population groups for the time being
.
Also read
: Three corona vaccines approved in Germany - can I decide which one to inject?
Astrazeneca: Safe vaccine for people over 65?
The Federal Ministry of Health relies on the recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission STIKO, which is located at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin.
The Astrazeneca vaccine only recommended this for 18 to 64 year olds.
According to the Tagessschau, virologist Thomas Mertens as the chairman of the STIKO points out that further information is necessary to prove the effectiveness in older people.
According to Mertens, the safety of the vaccine is beyond doubt,
but Astrazeneca's data are not sufficient to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine in the age group 65 and over.
In Great Britain, AZD1222 is also vaccinated in people over 65 years of age.
So far there have been no negative reports from there, neither in terms of effectiveness nor in terms of safety for this age group, said the former Austrian Minister of Health Pamela Rendi-Wagner at ATV-Aktuell.
In Austria, on the other hand, there was no recommendation from the National Vaccination Committee for people over 65
, as reported by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation.
(jg) * Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen digital editorial network
.
Sources: https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Daten/Impfquotenmonitoring.html;
https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/120707/Coronaimpfstoff-von-Astrazeneca-in-Italien-nur-bis-55-Jahre-empfohlen;
https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Kommissions/STIKO/Empfehler/AstraZeneca-Impfstoff.html
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List of rubric lists: © Andrew Matthews