Emmanuel Macron was criticised by European leaders over his claims about the vaccine
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People aged over 65 with existing health problems can be given the AstraZeneca vaccine, France’s health minister said on Monday, departing from the government’s earlier stance that the vaccine should be for under-65s only.
When the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use by European Union regulators, France mandated it would only go to eligible people under 65 because data from trials in older age groups was limited.
President Emmanuel Macron has claimed the AstraZeneca vaccine was "quasi-effective" for over-65s and on Monday Canada’s advisory body on vaccines said the jab was not recommended for that age group due to a lack of research.
But new data on the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine has "vindicated" the UK’s decision to roll it out to older age groups, England’s deputy chief medical officer has said.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had taken the view that it was "not immunologically plausible" the vaccine would work in younger age groups and not older ones.
A new study from Public Health England (PHE) suggests a single dose of the Pfizer or Oxford vaccine offers dramatic protection against hospital admission and severe disease in older people.
The World Heath Organisation has also recommended the jab for over-65s.
Since France decided not to approve the vaccine for over-65s, more data from trials has shown the efficacy of the vaccine, while the French has also struggled with a shortage of vaccines from its other suppliers, Pfizer and Moderna.
While France’s health minister, Olivier Veran, said people over 75 would continue to get only the Pfizer or Moderna jabs, he added: "Anybody aged 50 or over who is affected by co-morbidities can get the AstraZeneca vaccine, including those between 65 and 74."
In Canada, the vaccine was authorised for people who are 18 and older by drug regulator on Friday but the regulator noted that available clinical trial data was too limited to reliably estimate how well the vaccine worked in people 65 and older.
But it also said "emerging real world evidence" in places that had already started using the vaccine suggested a potential benefit and no safety concerns.
Germany is under pressure to change its vaccination strategy after the country’s top vaccine regulator acknowledged that advice against giving the AstraZeneca jab to over 65s had been flawed.
Read more: Thomas Kielinger: For Germans, Britain is now the grown-up
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