PARIS (AP) – France will only administer the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to people under 65, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday after the government’s health advisory body cited a lack of adequate information on its effectiveness in the elderly.
The decision could shake up the French vaccination strategy, as the country prioritises older residents and people over 75. France counted a large part of the upcoming vaccinations on the AstraZeneca vaccine until the company announced delays affecting countries in Europe and the world.
“For this AstraZeneca vaccine, we will not recommend it to those over 65,” Macron told TF1 television Tuesday night. Instead, the vaccine developed by the British-Swedish company with the University of Oxford will be given to medical staff under 65, individuals with health vulnerabilities or people with high exposure, he said.
The French practice differs from the guidelines given by the European Medicines Agency, which may use AstraZeneca’s vaccination on Friday for all adults throughout the European Union, amid criticism that the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate the population. .
Health authorities in Germany and other countries have expressed concern that the Anglo-Swedish company has not tested the vaccine with enough older people to prove it works for them, and indicated that they would not recommend it to people over 65.
In a guideline issued on Tuesday, the French High Authority for Health said it “recommends that the vaccine be given preference to people under 65 years of age.” It says it will review this guidance when AstraZeneca has more information on the efficacy of the vaccine in older people.
The French government is dependent on the leadership of the high authority and is adjusting its strategy based on the announcement. Health officials said they are constantly adjusting the vaccine strategy based on dose availability, demand and regulatory guidance.
Macron said France still aims to offer the vaccine to anyone who wants it by the end of the summer.
On Tuesday night, Macron met with international vaccine manufacturers and large pharmaceutical companies with an industrial area in France to discuss ways to promote short-term and ‘significant’ short-term production capacity in France and in Europe. The meeting comes amid criticism of the EU’s handling of its collective vaccine strategy in the bloc’s 27 member states.
Macron said he had sent a scientific team to Russia a few weeks ago to study the country’s vaccine efforts and “the exchanges were very positive.” The French leader noted early results from an advanced study by Russian Sputnik V, published in the medical journal The Lancet, which showed that the vaccine was approximately 91% effective.
Macron said that if and when the European Medicines Agency decided to approve the Russian vaccine, it would not be a “political decision. It is a scientific decision.”
France has seen some of the world’s highest number of confirmed virus cases and deaths, which have been steadily increasing over the past few weeks.
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