Angela Merkel
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Angela Merkel has dismissed suggestions she should ignore her government’s guidelines and take the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
There have been calls for Mrs Merkel to “lead by example” and be vaccinated on camera in order to dispel German public fears over the jab. But the AstraZeneca vaccine is currently only approved for under-65s in Germany, and Mrs Merkel is 66.
“I do not belong to the recommended age group for AstraZeneca,” Mrs Merkel told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. She also rejected suggestions she take the rival Pfizer jab, arguing it was “well accepted” by the German public.
Mrs Merkel and other German leaders have been reluctant to be seen as jumping the queue for the vaccines, preferring to wait their turn. But there have been calls for them to set an example as widespread public resistance to the AstraZeneca jab stalls the country’s rollout.
“AstraZeneca is a reliable vaccine, effective and safe, approved by the European Medical Agency and recommended in Germany up to the age of 65 years. All the authorities tell us that this vaccine can be trusted,” Mrs Merkel told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung .
AstraZeneca jab
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Germany is one of a number of European countries where the AstraZeneca vaccine is not currently approved for over-65s. The German independent Standing Committee on Vaccinations ruled there was not enough clinical data on its effectiveness in older people.
But the jab has also met with resistance from younger people, and according to health officials, so far Germany has only been able to administer 240,000 of the 1.54 million doses AstraZeneca has delivered.
There are widespread reports of people cancelling their appointments or simply not turning up when they learn they are to get the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The reluctance comes against a backdrop of scepticism over vaccines in general in Germany. The country has a large anti-vaxxer movement and a recent poll found 34 per cent of Germans say they don’t want to take any vaccine against the coronavirus.
Resistance has focused on the AstraZeneca jab in part because it is being offered to younger essential workers who are more likely to refuse, while the rival Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are currently being given to over-80s and those most at risk because of existing illnesses.
The fact the vaccine is slightly less effective than its rivals also appears to play a role, despite assurances from experts it prevents most serious courses of illness. Sceptics have also focused on reports of flu-like side effects, although these are generally harmless and disappear within a few days.
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