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“The AstraZeneca vaccine can also be taken from the age of 65”
WHO advisory group recommends vaccination twice for 8-12 weeks
Urgent use list to be decided in the middle of this month.
Reporter Yoon Yeo-jin [email protected]
Check-in: 2021-02-11 07:09:55Revision: 2021-02-11 07:12:15Published on: 2021-02-11 07:12:40
A medical team from Genoa, northern Italy, displays the AstraZeneca vaccine on the 10th (local time). EPA Yonhap News
The immunization advisory group of the World Health Organization (WHO) also recommended that AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom jointly develop the Corona 19 vaccine (hereinafter, the AstraZeneca vaccine) can be used by people over 65 years of age . With the controversy surrounding AstraZeneca vaccination in the elderly and in areas where the mutant virus has appeared, this recommendation is drawing attention.
In its interim recommendation, the Strategic Expert Advisory Group (SAGE) said: “Considering the totality of the available evidence, WHO recommends the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine even in people over 65 years of age.” SAGE President Alejandro Kravioto admitted the lack of data on the efficacy of the vaccine for people over 65 during a video press conference that day. “He said the AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended to be used by older adults. 18 years old with no age restrictions.
SAGE also recommended that the two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine be given 8-12 weeks apart. SAGE recommends that the AstraZeneca vaccine can also be used where the mutant COVID-19 virus has been produced. “There is no reason not to recommend its use, even in countries where the mutation has appeared,” Krabioto said.
These recommendations are expected to change vaccine policies around the world.
Currently, Germany, France, Austria and Sweden recommend a vaccination age below 65 years because there are not yet sufficient data on the efficacy of this vaccine in the elderly. Finland recommends less than 70 years, Poland less than 60 and Belgium less than 55.
Korea has approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for adults over 18 years of age, including people over 65 years of age.
South Africa has also retained its use as a result of a study that the effect on South African Corona 19 was limited.
As a result, the international ‘CoVax Facility’ project for joint purchasing and distribution of Corona 19 vaccines led by WHO and others is expected to gain further momentum. AstraZeneca is the main supplier of vaccines for KOVAX, and KOVAX plans to deliver 336 million doses of the vaccine to member countries in the first half of this year.
Meanwhile, the WHO is expected to make a decision on a rush-use list for the AstraZeneca vaccine in the middle of the month. To date, the WHO has approved emergency use only for the Pfizer-Bioentech Corona 19 vaccine.
Reporter Yoon Yeo-jin [email protected] Some news from Yonhap
