A panel of experts from the World Health Organization on Wednesday recommended that the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford be used in countries where new variants of the coronavirus are in circulation.
The recommendation comes a few days after South Africa decided to at least temporarily plan to roll out AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
The decision was announced after a small clinical trial indicated that the vaccine could not be protected against mild to moderate cases caused by the virus first seen in the country. Researchers could not conclude on the impact of the variant, known as B.1.351, on the vaccine’s ability to prevent serious diseases.
Despite the recommendation of the AstraZeneca vaccine for use everywhere, WHO scientists conceded that each country should consider the condition of the virus and the type of variants that spread there.
The WHO has not yet granted an emergency use list for the AstraZeneca vaccine, a move that would set in motion the deployment of the vaccine in many low- and low-income countries.
The WHO will consider the two vaccine manufacturers separately: AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute, the Indian producer that will deliver large doses for the Covax initiative to bring vaccines to poorer parts of the world. The WHO will consider these decisions in the next week, and decisions will be expected by the middle of this month.
The WHO approved the Pfizer vaccine at the end of last year. The decision to vaccinate AstraZeneca is highly anticipated as countries around the world rely on the inexpensive and easy-to-store product.
Countries are expected to receive their first batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Covax later in February.
The decisions of the WHO are of concern as to whether certain variants may reduce the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. The B.1.351 variant has been the biggest concern so far. The AstraZeneca vaccine and other leading vaccines continue to offer strong protection against another, more contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the UK, known as B.1.1.7.
But scientists warn against drawing firm conclusions from preliminary data.
“We are already in the early stages of understanding what any specific change in the virus means for the implementation of any vaccine or the vaccines as a whole,” said Katherine O’Brien, Director of WHO, Vaccinations and Biologicals, at Wednesday’s news conference.
For the time being, South Africa plans to vaccinate health workers from next week with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which prevents hospitalizations and deaths in clinical trials in the country. The vaccine has not yet been approved, but officials said they will use it as part of an ongoing clinical trial.
As for the AstraZeneca vaccine, South African health officials indicated on Wednesday that they were considering selling or exchanging their millions of doses of vaccine for various shots. WHO scientists have said they are prepared to discuss such plans as part of the Covax initiative.
The WHO panel that issued recommendations on Wednesday, known as the Strategic Advisory Group on Immunization Experts, also recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given to adults regardless of their age, and this breaks with a number of European countries that have chosen to use of the vaccine for younger people.
The WHO panel also recommended that the two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine be given between four and 12 weeks apart. The guidance follows the publication of an article last week in which it was found that the vaccine works better if the second dose is delayed. Britain and other countries have decided to delay the second doses of the vaccine in an effort to get more first doses into their population.