BERLIN: Instances of rare clotting in people who got AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine were 20 times higher than would be likely in the same time period among a specific age group, Christian Bogdan, a member of Germany's vaccine committee, said on Wednesday.

His comments came as the European Medicines Agency and Britain's medical regulator acknowledged a possible link between the AstraZeneca vaccine to very rare cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets, with most cases reported in women under 60 years of age within two weeks of vaccination.

Regulators said the benefits of the AstraZeneca shot still outweigh risks.