The decision was made following a recommendation from the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicine (Paul-Ehrlich Institute).
"The institute considers further research necessary following new reports of arterial thrombosis in the arteries of the brain in connection with vaccinations in Germany and elsewhere in Europe," the Ministry of Health noted. "The European Medicines Agency (EMA) must decide whether and how recent findings affect vaccine approval."
Italy and France announced a similar decision less than an hour later, stating that they wanted to make sure the vaccine was safe before it could be used again. "We look forward to the EMA's position, which should come tomorrow afternoon," French President Emmanuel Macron said in announcing the decision.
The Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland have already suspended the use of AstraZeneca coronary vaccine due to serious thrombotic events. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this afternoon that it was investigating the cases, but stressed that there was still no evidence of a causal relationship between thrombus formation and AstraZeneca.
Three recently vaccinated healthcare professionals arrived at Oslo University Hospital last week and were diagnosed with unusual symptoms such as 'bleeding, blood clots and low platelet counts'. Another patient with similar symptoms died, the Norwegian Medicines Agency said.
AstraZeneca itself made a statement this morning confirming the safety of its vaccine. The company reports that more than 17 million people have been vaccinated with the vaccine in the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the safety data collected have not shown an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (thrombocytopenia) or thrombocytopenia in any age group, gender, batch or country.