WHO experts said there was good evidence that the vaccine was effective even in older groups
Credit: Zsolt Czegledi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended the Oxford vaccine for the over-65s on Wednesday, saying the benefits outweighed the risks.
At a press conference, experts said there was good evidence that the vaccine was effective even in older groups.
Several countries, including Germany and France, have refused to allow the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab to be given to older people. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, claimed it was "quasi-ineffective" and that early results were "not encouraging".
However, the WHO said that although there was only a small number of over-65s in trials, it expected the impact of the vaccine to be the same as for younger people.
In interim recommendations released on Wednesday, the WHO said: "Immune responses induced by the vaccine in older persons are well documented and similar to those in other age groups. This suggests it is likely that the vaccine will be found to be efficacious to older persons.
"Taking the totality of available evidence into account, WHO recommends the vaccine for use in persons aged 65 and older."
How does the Oxford vaccine work?
Dr Alejandro Cravioto, the chairman of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (Sage) on Immunisation, said: "Based on the current evidence, Sage recommends that the vaccine should be administered in two doses with an interval of between four and 12 weeks.
"We have had a long review of the evidence, and although the results of the efficacy estimates for persons after 55 and older had a wide confidence interval, we feel the response of this group cannot be any different to groups that are of a younger age.
"We have based a totality of looking the safety and immunity data and therefore we recommend the vaccine to 18 and above without an upper age. People over 65 years of age should be given the vaccination."
The WHO also followed Britain in recommending that the vaccine be given eight to 12 weeks apart, saying a longer gap was "associated with greater vaccine efficacy" and mean it would reach more people.
Commenting on the announcement on Twitter, Prof Sir David Spiegelhalther, the chairman of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, said: "Well, let’s see how this goes down in Germany, France, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain, who are all currently denying their older citizens this protection."
The WHO also said that there was evidence that the Oxford vaccine would still have efficacy against the South Afican Covid variant, adding that countries with the mutated virus should still use the jab.
South Africa has paused the rollout of the Oxford jab after results this week showed the vaccine’s efficacy could be as low as 10 per cent.
However WHO experts said there was "no reason" not to use it in areas where the South African variant was circulating because it is likely to prevent hospitalisation and deaths even if people still pick up the mutated virus.
Dr Kate O’Brien, the director of the Department of Immunisation, Vaccines and Biologicals at the WHO, said: "AstraZeneca is an effective vaccine, it is an important vaccine for the world.
"In taking all of the evidence under advisement this very recent evidence about this small trial is inconclusive around its findings, albeit demonstrating a low efficacy against mild and moderate disease, with no evidence to point in one direction or another on severe disease. We have an absence of evidence.
"There is a plausible expectation the vaccine will have efficacy against severe disease."
Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology and chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, said: "It is excellent news that the WHO has recommended use of the SARS CoV-2 vaccine first produced in Oxford.
"This decision paves the way to more widespread use of the vaccine to protect people against Covid-19 and gain control of the pandemic."
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