Germany recommends AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine only for people under 65

Name: SCMP Explains: What's the difference between the major Covid-19 vaccines?
Uploaded: 2021-01-28T16:07:49.000Z
Duration: 9 min 50 s
Description: SCMP Explains: What's the difference between the major Covid-19 vaccines?

‘There are currently insufficient data available to assess the vaccine efficacy from 65 years of age,’ Germany’s vaccine committee says

The drug maker and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the effectiveness of the company’s shot

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Visitors queue before receiving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine outside a department store in Folkestone, Britain. Photo: Bloomberg

Reuters

Published: 12:07am, 29 Jan 2021Updated: 12:36am, 29 Jan 2021

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine should only be given to people aged between 18 and 64, Germany’s vaccine committee said in a draft recommendation, a day ahead of a decision by European regulators on whether to approve the drugmaker’s shot.

“There are currently insufficient data available to assess the vaccine efficacy from 65 years of age,” the committee, also known as Stiko, said in a draft resolution made available by the German health ministry on Thursday.

“The AstraZeneca vaccine, unlike the mRNA vaccines, should only be offered to people aged 18-64 years at each stage,” it added. Stiko’s assessment was based on the same trial data published by medical journal The Lancet on December 8.

The European Union approved a vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech in late December, and gave the green light to a shot made by Moderna in early January.

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SCMP Explains: What's the difference between the major Covid-19 vaccines?

AstraZeneca and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday defended the effectiveness of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine.