Last checked at 
(Adds confirmation from Charite, Vivantes, background)
BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - Berlin's state hospital groups
Charite and Vivantes have stopped giving women under the age of
55 shots of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, spokeswomen
for the hospitals said on Tuesday.
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.
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)
