* German vaccine committee recommends AZ only for over 60s
* Several German states to stop giving the shot to under 60s
* PEI registers 31 cases of rare brain blood disorder
* Germany has administered 2.7 mln doses of AZ shot
(Recasts with STIKO statement)
By Patricia Weiss and Caroline Copley
BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - Germany's vaccine committee,
known as STIKO, on Tuesday recommended using AstraZeneca's
COVID-19 vaccine only for people aged 60 and over
following further reports of a rare brain blood disorder.
"After several consultations, STIKO, with the help of
external experts, decided by a majority to recommend the
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine only for persons aged 60 years and
older on the basis of available data on the occurrence of rare
but very severe thromboembolic side effects," it said in a
statement.
German leaders were due to discuss the use of the
Anglo-Swedish firm's vaccine after several states said they
would stop giving the shot to people under the age of 60
following the reports of the rare brain blood disorder.
Health Minister Jens Spahn was due to talk with his regional
counterparts at 1800 CET (1600 GMT), a ministry spokesman said.
The meeting follows further reports by Germany's vaccine
regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), of cases of blood
clots known as cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT).
PEI said it had registered 31 cases of CSVT, which resulted
in nine deaths, out of some 2.7 million people who have received
the AstraZeneca vaccine. With the exception of two cases, all
reports involved women aged between 20 and 63.
Before STIKO issued its statement, several German states,
including Berlin and Brandenburg, as well as the city of Munich,
said they would stop giving the shot to people under 60.
State hospital groups Charite and Vivantes suspended
vaccinations in female staff aged under 55, citing further cases
of CSVT.
Because use of the vaccine in Germany was initially limited
to those under 65, the shot has been administered among younger
women, particularly medical staff and teachers.
"Regarding the question of administering the second vaccine
dose to younger persons who have already received a first dose
of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, STIKO will issue a
supplementary recommendation by the end of April," STIKO said.
Many European countries briefly stopped using AstraZeneca's
vaccine earlier this month while investigating rare cases of
blood clots.
Both the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World
Health Organization said this month the benefits of
AstraZeneca's vaccine outweighed the risks.
An EMA review covering 20 million people who took the
AstraZeneca shot in Britain and the European Economic Area found
seven cases of blood clots in multiple blood vessels and 18
cases of CVST.
MILLIONS ADMINISTERED
AstraZeneca says its vaccine is safe and effective, citing
extensive trial data. Millions of doses have been safely
administered around the world.
Nearly all countries have since resumed use of the vaccine.
But France broke with guidance from the EMA 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 under 55 and require a new
analysis of the shot's benefits and risks based on age and
gender.
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.
Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder criticised the "back and
forth" around the vaccine, saying all recommendations showed
that the danger of severe illness from the coronavirus
outweighed any side-effects linked to the shot.
"At some point we have to be able to administer it freely
and say, 'He who wants it and he who dares should be able to get
it'," he said.
(Reporting by Caroline Copley, Patricia Weiss and Paul Carrel;
Editing by Nick Macfie and Jonathan Oatis)