BERLIN – Germany's top health official expressed regret Friday that some neighboring countries have paused their use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine following reports of blood clots in some people, despite the lack of any evidence the shot was responsible.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said that while Germany takes reports of possible side effects from vaccines “very, very seriously,” both the European Medicines Agency and Germany's own vaccine oversight body have said they have no evidence of an increase in dangerous blood clots in connection with the shots. “I regret that on the basis of the knowledge of Friday morning some countries in the European Union have suspended vaccinations with AstraZeneca,” Spahn told reporters in Berlin.