Merkel received a second dose of Moderna after a first of AstraZeneca – telam

German head of government Chancellor Angela Merkel has received a second dose of the coronavirus vaccine from Moderna, following a first from AstraZeneca, a spokesperson reported.

“Yes, we confirm” that Merkel, 66, “recently” received second dose of coronavirus vaccine, from the American laboratory Moderna, the spokesperson said, the AFP news agency reported.

Merkel received a first dose of the vaccine from the Anglo-Swedish laboratory AstraZeneca on April 16, but its use has since been suspended for a time in Germany after being linked to several cases of thrombosis in Europe.

The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has already been received by several German leaders, including the President of the Republic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is now restricted in the country to people over the age of 60.

Several countries, including Germany, have decided to apply a second dose of a messenger RNA vaccine, such as that from Moderna, in what is called a “Mixed vaccination schedule”, following an injection of AstraZeneca, which uses the adenovirus technique.

More than half (51.2%) of the German population, i.e. 42.5 million people have received at least one dose vaccine and 26.3 million (31.6%) are fully immunized, according to government updated figures.