The role of Germany, and in particular Health Minister Jens Spahn, is in the spotlight after a chaotic round of telephone diplomacy at the start of the week ended with the EU's biggest states agreeing to put AstraZeneca on hold.
Spahn says he acted on expert advice after Germany's vaccine watchdog reported on what it described as a statistically significant number of cases of a rare brain blood clot.
AstraZeneca says it has found no evidence that the blood clots were caused by the vaccine. The World Health Organization called on countries not to delay lifesaving vaccine programmes.
Germany's actions have been interpreted as political both at home and abroad, with opposition leaders calling on Chancellor Angela Merkel to sack Spahn. Officials in major European capitals have given mixed accounts over how the joint move to halt AstraZeneca came about.
The stop on AstraZeneca threatens to hobble Europe's vaccination campaign just as a third wave of infection breaks over the continent, accelerated by more infectious variants.
The bloc has already lagged far behind the United States and former EU member Britain in vaccinating citizens. Hospitals are filling up again, and politicians in several European countries have been forced to consider fresh lockdowns, even as comparable rich countries prepare for normal life to return.
"We need this vaccine," said Germany's best-known virologist Christian Drosten, whose regular podcast is widely followed. He cited forecasts of a resurgence in infection by Easter that could endanger Germans over the age of 60 who are next in line for a shot.
Ian Jones, a professor of virology at Britian's Reading University, said the blood clot issue had "been picked up by politicians who don't know one side of a virus from another".
"It's like falling dominoes. You just need one or two (countries) to state there's a problem and suspend use, and then a whole lot of others will fall in place. I don't think there have been any independent decisions," he told Reuters.
A MATTER OF TRUST
Germany acted after its vaccine oversight body, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, found seven cases of a very rare cerebral vein clot among 1.6 million people given the AstraZeneca shot in the country, including three cases that were fatal.
The EU drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating reports of around 30 cases of blood clots, bleeding and low platelet counts among the 5 million people in the EU that have received the AstraZeneca vaccine.
It will present its findings on Thursday, but meanwhile it has found no causal link to the vaccine, and says the shot's benefits clearly outweigh any risks.
"We are worried that there may be an effect on the trust of the vaccines," EMA head Emer Cooke told reporters. "But our job is to make sure that the products that we authorise are safe and can be trusted."
AstraZeneca Plc said it had conducted a review covering more than 17 million people who had received its shots in the EU and Britain, and had found no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.
Yet a narrow majority of Germans believe it was right for the government to suspend AstraZeneca, a Forsa opinion poll showed on Wednesday, with 54% backing Spahn's decision and 39% saying it was excessive.
The willingness of Germans to be vaccinated against COVID, at 71%, meanwhile, has fallen by two percentage points since Forsa's last poll on March 3. Were AstraZeneca to be reinstated, 63% would be willing to take it.
NO PRESSURE
Officials in European capitals gave conflicting accounts of a round of whirlwind diplomacy on Monday that led Italy, France and Spain to follow Germany in suspending the shot.
Sources said Merkel telephoned Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to brief him. One top Italian health official called Italy's suspension a political decision not to part ways with Germany.
Italian sources said Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed by phone that the measure was temporary and precautionary.
A senior German government source denied that Berlin had exerted any pressure, noting that smaller EU member states such as Austria and Belgium had already raised the alarm.
"Nobody is being forced to do anything," said the German source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "That's not how the EU works."
Amid the European controversy, frustration over Spahn's pandemic management has boiled over among Germany's ruling conservatives, who have just suffered defeats in two regional elections. Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) are languishing at one-year lows in polls ahead of a general election in September in which she will not seek a record fifth term.
Her successor as CDU chairman, Armin Laschet, a contender to run for chancellor, has criticised the AstraZeneca delay as "bad news". Rival Markus Soeder, the governor of Bavaria, has called for the shot to be made available to anyone who wants it.
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Paul your so correct with the description of eu serial contradictions you really could not make it up. The further signs of eu corporate insanity range wide. As in jersey boats can’t sell un treated shellfish in Europe. French boats catching same shellfish from the same newly dirty waters can. The attitude to NI is also dangerous they obviously do not understand the loyalist community and the Belfast agreement guarantees to them written in it. By the by that 50 aircraft from largely un vaccinated Germany will arrive daily into Majorca at Easter is madness at current infection rates
For gods sake 25 million people have been vaccinated in the uk at least half with the AV jab if these people in the European Commission want to throw there dummy's out of the pram over a jab that was developed in the UK then so be it let THEM themselves refuse too have the jab .But stop putting the lives of your people in jepody. The ONLY reason they are doing this IS because THE UK had the ordasity to leave there Block there is no other reason the AV JAB IS SAFE for gods sake those in the EU should grow up .
You really couldn't make this up. EU completely messes up vaccination programme by throwing all its eggs in the French Sanofi basket which failed. Has a strop because it didn't place orders in time for the AZ vaccine because it was trying to barter down a vaccine being sold at cost price. Can't understand why other countries are receiving jabs first (hint - because they ordered first) nor does it understand the concept of best endeavours. Tries to block exports of vaccines illegally. Gets even more spiteful and risks reigniting the troubles in Northern Ireland by chucking the Good Friday Agreement under the bus. Then decides it doesn't want the AZ vaccine after all and makes up lies about it. Then decides it does want it after all and blocks exports under a legal contract to Australia. Then changes its mid again and stops the AZ programme putting lives at risk on a perceived risk of 0.0006% of cases (Pfizer is higher). Then decides it wants to hoard vaccines that it doesn't want to use and accuses other countries of behaving badly.