Setbacks continue in Europe's vaccine rollout

There was confusion at this vaccination center in the German city of Cologne on Wednesday (March 30), one day after Germany limited some use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine following further reports of a rare brain blood disorder, the latest blow for the vaccine in Europe.

People waiting their turn for a shot told Reuters they were finding it difficult to keep track of what's right and what's wrong.

Acting on advice from Germany's vaccine committee, the country's federal and state health ministries agreed on Tuesday (March 30) that under 60-year-olds should only receive the AstraZeneca vaccine if they belong to high-priority groups, which include high-risk patients and medical workers, in consultation with a doctor.

Meantime, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron are discussing possible cooperation on vaccines with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The three had a joint video conference on Tuesday.

The Kremlin said in a statement that the trio had discussed the outlook for Russia's flagship Sputnik V vaccine being registered across the EU as well as potential deliveries and joint production of the vaccine inside the EU.

The European Union's regulator -- the European Medicines Agency -- has yet to grant its approval to Sputnik V, but is reviewing it, and some individual EU member states have either approved it or are assessing it for approval at a national level.

EU sources told Reuters that behind the scenes, the bloc is showing increased interest in the shot.