GENEVA (AP) – Independent experts advising the World Health Organization on immunization on Wednesday recommended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, even in countries with worrying coronavirus variants in their population.
The advice of WHO experts is being used worldwide by health officials, but it is not a green light for the United Nations and its partners to send the vaccine to countries that have signed up to receive the shots through a global initiative not. The approval could take place after separate WTO group meetings on Friday and Monday to determine whether a list of emergencies for the AstraZeneca vaccine should be justified.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is important because it forms the bulk of the stock obtained so far by the UN-backed effort, known as COVAX, which aims to target coronavirus vaccines in humans worldwide. COVAX plans to ship hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine worldwide later this month, but it depends on the WHO’s approval for the shot, vaccine supplies and the countries’ willingness to receive it.
But the vaccine has received increasing concern. After an early study suggested that it would be less effective compared to a variant first seen in South Africa, the South African government adjusted its COVID-19 vaccination program.
“Although there is a reduction in the possibility that this vaccine has a full impact on its protective capacity, especially against serious diseases, there is no reason not to recommend its use, even in countries that spread the variant. not, “said dr. Alejandro Cravioto, Chair of the WHO Expert Group.
Instead of exporting 1 million doses of AstraZeneca as planned, South Africa’s health minister said on Wednesday that the government would start immunizing health workers with the unlicensed shooting of Johnson & Johnson.
The expert group’s recommendations on the AstraZeneca vaccine, developed at Oxford University in Britain, largely reflect those previously issued by the European Medicines Agency and the UK’s Drug Regulator.
Cravioto said the AstraZeneca vaccine should be used in older age groups despite the lack of fixed data, similar to advice from the EMA and Britain.
“This means that people over the age of 65 should get the vaccine,” he said.
However, countries including Germany, France and Belgium have said the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be used in the elderly, citing insufficient evidence.
The chief scientist of the WHO, dr. Soumya Swaminathan, noted that the AstraZeneca uptake at refrigerator temperatures is required – not the much colder temperatures required by the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine that the group is already recommending for use.
So far, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is the only one receiving a WHO list for emergency use.
The expert group noted that ‘preliminary analyzes’ showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine had a reduced efficacy against coronavirus variants originating in Britain and South Africa. Yet the studies were too small to yield definitive results, and scientists think the vaccines may still be useful in reducing serious diseases, which will delay the pandemic.
“Any decision to leave vulnerable populations completely unprotected is a risky decision at this stage,” said Michael Head, a senior research fellow at the University of Southampton. “Therefore, it is good to see that the WHO recommends the use of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine in all age groups, including older populations,” he said in a statement.
The WHO expert group also said that international travelers should not be given the preference for vaccine doses, saying that it would counteract the principle of fairness, while there is still no evidence whether the vaccine reduces transmission.
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