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ITaly will use the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine only for people 18 to 55 years old and in good health, he writes Erica Di Blasi in Turin.
For those most at risk, including people over 55 and younger people with significant health problems, “mRNA-based” vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna will be used, the government of Rome announced.
The AstraZeneca jab will be given first to certain priority groups such as school and university personnel, the military, the police, and prison and prison officials, followed by the rest of the population.
The Italian government cited more “robust” data on the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine among younger adults.
Its drug approval body noted that with currently available data, “in terms of percentage reduction in the frequency of symptomatic infections, the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine is lower than that of mRNA vaccines.”
Despite this, “the level of protection offered by the AstraZeneca vaccine continues to provide significant benefit in containing the pandemic.”
Last week, Spain said it would also restrict the use of the Astra jab to those under 55, while Germany, France, Austria and Norway will give the injection only to people under 65.
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