Benzinga | Mar 30, 2021 01:53PM EDT

Germany Stops AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Use In People Under 60: CNBC

* The German state of Berlin is suspending the use of AstraZeneca Plc's (NASDAQ: AZN) COVID-19 vaccine for people under 60 due to reports of blood clots, reports CNBC.

* Berlin's health official, Dilek Kalayci, said that the decision was precautionary after 31 cases of rare blood clots in people recently vaccinated. Nine people died. All but two of the cases involved women aged 20 to 63.

* Reports of an unusual form of a blood clot in the head prompted several European countries to halt the vaccine earlier this month temporarily.

* After a review by medical experts, the European Medicines Agency concluded the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks but recommended that warnings about possible rare side effects should be provided.

* Most European Union countries have since resumed the use of the vaccine.

* Earlier today, two state-owned hospitals in Berlin have stopped giving AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine to female staff members under 55-years-old.

* The heads of five university hospitals in western Germany called for a temporary halt to the vaccine for all younger women, citing the blood clot risk.

* Price Action: AZN shares are trading 1.65% lower at $49.97 in the market trading session on the last check Tuesday.