COVID-19: Germany makes J&J vaccine available to all adults

On May 10, 2021

Germany said it has made a move by allowing anyone who wishes to receive the one-jab Johnson & Johnson vaccine to do so between now and the end of June.

On Monday, federal and state health authorities said a more liberal approach was justified because those expected deliveries – and another nine million doses in the second quarter – exceed the number of older Germans left to vaccinate.

Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn said he expected everyone aged 60 and above who wanted to be vaccinated to be offered a shot by late May or early June. With millions of J&J doses due to arrive later in the second quarter of this year, it made sense to make the shot more widely available,

As with the AstraZeneca vaccine in many EU countries, another so-called vector vaccine, Germany’s vaccination authorities recommend the Johnson & Johnson only for over-60s because of rare cases of serious blood clots.

However younger patients can opt for the vaccine with informed consent, an approach that has already prompted a rush on doctors’ practices for the AstraZeneca jab.

So far, Germany has now vaccinated 32.3 per cent of the population at least once, 9 per cent of the population in total, and is averaging up to one million vaccinations daily.

MTO/Reuters