AstraZeneca vaccine, 8% effective for the elderly? … will it be reduced to ‘half a vaccine’?

The controversy that the Corona 19 vaccine developed jointly by the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is not effective for the elderly is rarely allayed. In the worst case, there is concern that the elderly may be excluded from vaccination and that it may be reduced to a “half shot” that only the young can receive.

In particular, the controversy drew attention as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) decided to use the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use. The AstraZeneca vaccine is a vaccine previously purchased by the Korean government.

8% efficacy of the vaccine for the elderly? … AstraZeneca evolves “No”

It is the German economic magazine ‘Handelsblatt’ that lit the fire of controversy. The newspaper quoted German government officials on the 25th (local time) as saying that the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine was only 8% for the elderly over 65. The Bilt newspaper also published a similar report on the same day. The two newspapers have since predicted that the AstraZeneca vaccine would not be approved for use in the elderly by the EMA as the efficacy of the vaccine has not been verified.

AstraZeneca published a study late last year that the vaccine it developed elicited a strong immune response in the elderly. Older people are very likely to become seriously ill patients if they receive Corona 19. Therefore, eliciting an immune response in the elderly was one of the most important tasks in vaccine research. Many of the corona 19 deaths were infected over the age of 60.

The controversy quickly spread after the German press. If the reports are true, the EMA will likely only approve the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in young people. Europe, which is second only to the United States, is now betting on the AstraZeneca vaccine, but it is very likely to fall for a ‘half vaccine’ if concerns are realized.

As the controversy grew, AstraZeneca and the German government actively refuted and began to evolve. AstraZeneca said: “If you look at the data that we published in the Lancet Medical Journal in November last year, the elderly showed a strong immune response to vaccination. After the second vaccination, the rate of antibody production in the elderly reached The 100%”. . He also emphasized that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) in the UK previously approved the use of its own vaccine for older people.

“I have no idea where the source of the false claim is,” Pascal Sorio AstraZeneca chief executive officer (CEO) said in an interview with Germany’s Develt. When asked how effective it is for the elderly, he admitted: “Due to ethical issues, the University of Oxford did not test for the elderly in the first clinical trial.” There is detailed data that can be tested. “

In an interview with La Riblica in Italy, he admitted: “It is true that the amount of clinical data to demonstrate efficacy for the elderly is somewhat insufficient,” he said.

The German Health Ministry has also evolved, saying that the newspapers are confusing the figures. In particular, he emphasized that ‘8%’ was the proportion aged 56 to 69 who participated in clinical trials, not preventive effects. However, the Ministry of Health said that “there were fewer older people who participated in the clinical trial of AstraZeneca (vaccine) than other manufacturers.”

Some experts have also questioned the fact that the AstraZeneca vaccine is only 8% effective for the elderly. Professor Adam Finn of the University of Bristol, UK, who reviewed the clinical data, noted that “from what is mentioned in the Lancet Medical Journal, it is difficult to know the source of the 8% efficacy figure for the elderly” .

The possibility of conditional approval by the European Medicines Agency ‘Solsol’ … ‘half vaccine’

The controversy came before the announcement of whether EMA’s AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for sale (approved for emergency use). The EMA will decide whether to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in Europe on the 29th. Germany’s leading weekly magazine Spiegel predicted that the EMA may recommend vaccines only to those under 65 when it approves the use of the vaccine.

Earlier, EMA Commissioner Emma Cook did not rule out the possibility that the day before, the European Parliament’s Health Commission would approve AstraZeneca vaccines only for certain age groups. It reads as a comment with the controversy that it is not effective for the elderly. “There is a possibility that a conclusion may be reached to approve the use by focusing on a specific age group, and a conclusion may be drawn to target a broader age group.”

Commissioner Cook pointed to the fact that studies with very few subjects have so far been conducted to determine whether the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective for the elderly. He added: “We are trying to find out what the study data mean for clinical participants, as well as what is the age group in which the study was not done (when they were vaccinated).”

Meanwhile, if the EMA approves the AstraZeneca vaccine and recommends vaccinating the vaccine only for those under 65, the German government will consider changing vaccination priorities. Germany is currently vaccinating the corona 19 vaccine first for people over the age of 80.

Currently, the AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for emergency and restricted use in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and India.