An EEA official spoke about the rejection of the AstraZeneca vaccine



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Marco Cavaleri, head of the EEA’s vaccine strategy division, told the Italian newspaper La Stampa that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be a priority for people over 60 years of age.

Both, called viral vector vaccines, are approved for use in everyone over the age of 18, but there are still rare reports of blood clots. The European Union has also approved two mRNA vaccines, Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna.

In Italy, a decision was made on Saturday to restrict the use of AstraZeneca to people over the age of 60, fearing it poses a greater risk to the health of younger people.

When asked whether it would not be better to ban the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, even for people over 65 years of age, Mr. Cavaleri replied: “Yes, and this is an option that many countries, such as France, are considering for a increased access to mRNA vaccines. and Germany “.

“However, incidents are very rare and are registered after the first dose. True, there is less data on the second dose, but the vaccination program with the vaccine is running smoothly in the UK, he said. “Young people have a reduced risk of contracting the disease and the message is that they would prefer mRNA vaccines, but individual countries are left with their own devices.”

Mr. Cavaleri also noted that Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine “has fewer problems than AstraZeneca, although the former is used less frequently.

“A single dose is suitable for some categories that are difficult to achieve, but it is an adenovirus vaccine that is best used in people over 60 years old,” he added.



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