French U-turn over AZ jab for over-65s
FRANCE approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for the over-65s in an embarrassing U-turn last night.
Previously, it had limited the jab to younger age groups after questioning its effectiveness and the limited data on older people.
But health minister Olivier Veran said: ‘Anybody aged 50 or over who is affected by comorbidities can get the AstraZeneca vaccine, including those between 65 and 74.’
In January, French president Emmanuel Macron had to backtrack after claiming the jab was ‘quasi-effective’ in older groups.
Only around 273,000 doses of the jab developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University have been administered in France out of 1.7million received as of the end of February, according to health ministry figures.
People aged 75 and over will continue to get the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines only.
Meanwhile, Germany is still refusing to authorise AstraZeneca for the over-65s, fanning fears over its effectiveness.
By Tuesday of last week, 1.45million doses had been delivered to the country, but only 240,000 used.
As a result, ministers have made teachers a higher priority, so they can get the jab. And calls are growing to widen the vaccine priority list to make sure no AstraZeneca shots go to waste.
Chancellor Angela Merkel herself praised the AstraZeneca shot as ‘a vaccine that can be trusted’ in an interview last week. She pleaded with Germans not to pick and choose their vaccines.
Asked if she would lead by example and take the AstraZeneca vaccine herself, Merkel replied that she was not eligible for this particular jab given that she is 66 years old.