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BERLIN, March 17 (Reuters) - A majority of Germans believe
it was right for the government to suspend AstraZeneca's
COVID-19 shots pending an investigation of cases where
recipients developed unusual blood disorders, an opinion poll
showed on Wednesday.
Germany, along with more than a dozen European Union member
states, halted AstraZeneca after its vaccine oversight body
found seven people had suffered rare cerebral vein thromboses,
three of whom died.
According to the Forsa snap poll for broadcasters RTL and
ntv, 54% of respondents said the decision by Health Minister
Jens Spahn had been right. Nearly four in 10 said the reaction
was excessive. Some 39% thought the suspension was wrong.
The European Union's drug regulator is investigating the
reports of blood clots, bleeding and low platelet counts and
will report its findings on Thursday.
Its head, Emer Cooke, said on Tuesday that the benefits of
the AstraZeneca shot clearly outweighed its risks. It was
important, she added, to maintain public trust in vaccines in
order to beat the coronavirus pandemic.
The willingness of Germans to be vaccinated against COVID,
at 71%, has fallen by two percentage points since Forsa's last
poll on March 3. The new survey covered 1,001 respondents and
had a margin for error of three percentage points.
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine)
