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The Astra Zeneca vaccine is said to have a very low protective effect in people over 65 years of age. According to information from the Handelsblatt newspaper, the protective effect does not exceed eight percent. German Bild also writes that the protection effect is less than ten percent.
Therefore, the German government hopes that the EU will not approve the Astra Zeneca vaccine for people over 65, writes Bild.
The newspaper writes that they received the information after participating in internal talks between the German government and the German federal states.
Astra Zeneca Vaccine Effectiveness Questioned
According to Handelsblatt, the German Health Ministry is now investigating whether it is necessary to adjust the vaccination schedule. But there is currently no statement from the ministry on the possible effects of a low protection effect.
German Der Spiegel writes that the effectiveness of the Astra Zeneca vaccine was previously questioned as they had a poor representation of older people in their phase 3 studies.
The UK approved the Astra Zeneca vaccine for use in the country on December 30.
Reject the information
Astra Zeneca rejects the information from the German newspapers and writes in an email to Expressen:
“The information that the effect of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine is as low as 8% in adults over 65 is completely incorrect … In November, we published data in The Lancet showing that older adults displayed strong immune responses to the vaccine, where 100 percent of older adults generated nail-specific antibodies after the second dose, ”writes Press Manager Christina Malmberg Hägerstrand.
Pressured by the EU after delivery problems
Although the Astra Zeneca vaccine has not even been approved in the EU, they have already informed the European Commission that they will not be able to deliver the amount of vaccine that the pharmaceutical company previously promised.
According to Reuters, the delivery volume will be 60 percent less than promised. For the Swedish side, this means 30 percent fewer vaccinations in the first month after possible approval, according to vaccine coordinator Richard Bergström.
Expressen is looking for Swedish Vaccine Coordinator Richard Bergström, the Swedish Public Health Agency and the Medical Products Agency.
