The ministry said in a press release it took the decision based on the State Medicines Control Agency's information on registered adverse reactions to the vaccine, named Vaxzevria, and in light of the European Medicines Agency's recommendations, and the epidemiological situation in the country.
"Lithuania remains among the ten European Union countries that do not apply additional age restrictions for this vaccine," it said.
Germany, which previously limited the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine to people aged 60 and above, has already decided to scrap the additional restrictions, too, the ministry noted.
The European Medicines Agency does not recommend restricting the use of Vaxzevria based on age, concluding that the vaccine is effective in preventing hospitalizations, admissions to intensive care units and deaths in all age groups. These benefits increase with age and with higher infection rates, according to the press release.
In Lithuania, increasingly younger people are hospitalized with COVID-19, which is worrying, the ministry said.
It sticks to its recommendation that two doses of Vaxzevria be administered 12 weeks apart to provide the greatest protection against COVID-19.
Rugile Pilviniene, the senior advisor to the State Medicines Control Agency's Pharmacovigilance and Poisoning Information Unit, said on Monday that the first two cases of unusual blood clots in people vaccinated with AstraZeneca's vaccine had been registered in Lithuania.
"We had two cases of thrombocytopenia with thrombosis, namely thrombosis of the sagittal sinus, a very large vein in the brain," she said.
Pilviniene said both cases were young people aged 27 and 30 years, adding that one of them had already recovered and the other was still in the hospital.
The advisor said that several more cases of thrombosis had been registered in April, too.
In early April, the EMA said the occurrence of unusual blood clots should be listed as a "very rare" adverse reaction to the AstraZeneca vaccine.