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Amsterdam / Berlin (dpa) - After a renewed review, the EU Medicines Agency (EMA) has given the green light for the corona vaccine from the US manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.

The EMA announced that it could actually trigger blood clots in very rare cases.

However, the authority maintains that the benefits of preventing Covid-19 should be rated higher than the risks of side effects.

Johnson & Johnson then announced that the launch of its vaccine would continue in Europe.

The preparation should also be used in Germany and accelerate vaccinations - a fifth of German citizens have now been vaccinated against the coronavirus at least once.

A week ago, the US suspended vaccinations with the drug from Johnson & Johnson after at least eight cases of thrombosis had occurred after about seven million vaccinations - an advisory committee of the US health authority CDC wants to talk about how to proceed on Friday.

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In the EU, delivery of the vaccine only started last week. Numerous EU countries followed the manufacturer's recommendation to wait for the EMA experts' report before using it. The EU Commission has already ordered vaccine doses for 200 million people. Germany would receive 36.7 million of this. Unlike other vaccines, only a single dose is required.

As the EMA announced, the possibility of blood clots with a very low number of blood platelets is now to be registered as a rare side effect. According to the experts, most of the cases involved women under 60 years of age. The thrombosis, predominantly in the cerebral veins, had occurred within three weeks of vaccination. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the approval by the EMA. "This is good news for vaccination campaigns across the EU," she wrote on Twitter.

"The safety and health of the people who use our products is our top priority," said Paul Stoffels, chief scientist at Johnson & Johnson.

Deliveries to the EU as well as Norway and Iceland would start again.

The package insert for the vaccine will be updated, and the employees of the medical facilities where the active ingredient is used should also be specifically informed.

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It was the second time that the EMA re-examined a corona vaccine after approval. Cerebral vein thrombosis had also occurred with the active ingredient in Astrazeneca, especially in younger women. The cases are very similar for both vaccines, the experts found. At Astrazeneca, too, the EMA stuck to its assessment that the vaccine was safe. Blood clots had occurred in about 1 in 100,000 people. In Germany, Astrazeneca should generally only be used from the age of 60.

Nationwide, according to registration data, 20.2 percent of the population have now been vaccinated at least once, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

According to this, around 16.8 million people were vaccinated once, and around 5.6 million more received full protection with a second dose.

Ten of the 16 federal states have already reached the 20 percent mark for first vaccinations.

Hesse came in last with 18.3 percent.

Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) emphasized the higher vaccination rate.

In the first quarter, only 10 percent of Germans could have been vaccinated for the first time due to a shortage of vaccines.

The next 10 percent would now have only needed three weeks.

"At the beginning of May every fourth person will be vaccinated at least once," said Spahn on Twitter.

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The vaccination campaign in Germany began at the end of last year.

First it was the turn of people over 80, residents of old people's and nursing homes and medical staff.

Among other things, chronically ill people with an increased risk of a serious and fatal course are given preference to vaccinate.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210420-99-282598 / 5

EMA

Tweet from the Leyens on April 20, 2021

Tweet Spahn from April 20, 2021