EU medicines regulator approves AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for anyone over 18

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine

Credit: DADO RUVIC /REUTERS

Europe’s medicines regulator on Friday recommended approving AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine for anyone over the age of 18.

Europe urgently needs more shots to speed up its inoculation programme with suppliers such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer facing difficulties in delivering the quantities promised for the early months of the year.

Germany’s vaccine committee had said in a draft recommendation on Thursday that the AstraZeneca jab should only be given to people aged between 18 and 64, due to a lack of data about how effective it is in older people.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.