German Health deptt on Monday said it would give the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine primarily to those aged 60 and up, but decided it could also be offered to younger people as long as their individual health risks had been considered.

Different from the AstraZeneca vaccine, however, Johnson & Johnson requires only one jab, rather than two.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will therefore be given the same status as the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was last week cleared to be given to people younger than 60, as long as they had had a consultation with a doctor. The wider use of J&J vaccine should help accelerate Germany's vaccine drive further, as it reaches more parts of the population.

The roll-out of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been delayed in Germany and other countries in Europe due to concerns that, in highly rare circumstances, they can contribute to the formation of internal blood clots.

The decision to lift the age restriction was taken at a meeting of state and federal health ministers and announced by Health Minister Jens Spahn on Monday, following a recommendation from Germany's top vaccine body.

The ministers said that they took the cases of cervical vein thromboses in connection with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine very seriously, but pointed out that - as with the AstraZeneca vaccine - such cases were very rare.

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