Germany to offer Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to all officials | Coronavirus News Plague
The move will reverse the previous decision to ban AstraZeneca COVID from shooting people over 60.
Germany allows AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to be given to adults of all ages and wants to vaccinate children aged 12-18 at the end of August as it seeks to speed up its distribution, Health Minister Jens Spahn has said.
Local health officials 16 have agreed with Spahn to reverse the initial decision to ban AstraZeneca shots for people over the age of 60. They also said the 12-week difference between the first and second doses of AstraZeneca vaccine could be shortened.
“All of this is helping to improve our vaccine performance,” Spahn said Thursday.
The initial shortage of donations and government restrictions meant that Germany, which has the richest resources in Europe, began slowly with its sacrificial approach.
The move, already approved in a number of German countries, could be voluntary and family doctors choose the best way to administer the vaccine, Spahn said.
The high dosage of AstraZeneca vaccine has been well-received in Europe, but anxiety is delayed due to scarce blood levels that seem to be very low, meaning that some people in the early stages due to age or health preferences have been unable to access them, choosing to wait for another vaccine.
Many countries have stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine in March or banned it only for the elderly. However, a number of them have relapsed into full-time use or restrictions after health officials say the benefits of shooting outweigh any risks.
Release group for 12-18 years
Spahn also said that Germany wants to vaccinate children aged 12-18 at the end of August, as long as European authorities approve the BioNTech-Pfizer shooting for those ages.
So far, 30.6% of Germany’s approximately 83 million people have received the first dose and 8.6% have been fully vaccinated, reports the Robert Koch Institute show.
Germany needs to reduce restrictions this weekend for people who are fully vaccinated or recovering from COVID-19. They will not be given time to go home at night and will no longer have to give a wrong test when they go shopping.
Germany has been hit by a third pandemic but the number of new cases is declining. The seven-day event fell to 129 per 100,000 Thursday, demonstrations by the Robert Koch Institute show.
Vaccination in the country has been widely criticized for its delays, but it has started surprisingly, with 15 million shots in April, as many as three months ago, Spahn said.
