(Recasts after Merkel receives COVID shot)
BERLIN, April 16 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel
received her first shot of AstraZeneca's COVID-19
vaccine on Friday, her spokesman said on Twitter.
"I am happy that I received the first vaccination with
AstraZeneca," the Twitter post quoted Merkel, 66, as saying.
"Vaccinations are the key to overcoming the pandemic," she
added in the quote.
Germany's vaccine regulator has recommended limiting the use
of AstraZeneca's vaccine to those aged over 60, citing risks of
a rare clotting condition.
Questions over the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine as well
as another viral vector one made by Johnson & Johnson
threaten to undermine public confidence in the low-cost shots,
which authorities had been counting on in the fight against a
pandemic that has claimed more than 3 million lives worldwide.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz also received a first shot of
AstraZeneca's vaccine earlier on Friday.
"I have always said I would get vaccinated when it is my
turn," the 62-year-old politician told journalists ahead of
receiving his jab. "Today is the day."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a former
minister in Merkel's government, received a shot of the vaccine
made by BioNTech and Pfizer on Thursday.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Maria Sheahan
Editing by Gareth Jones)