COVID Q&A Is the Oxford vaccine really no good for the over-65s?

QIs it true that the Oxford vaccine doesn’t work as well for older people?

AGerman newspaper reports claimed that the Oxford AstraZeneca jab offered only eight per cent protection to over-65s.

Then, on Friday, Germany’s vaccine authorities announced they would not be recommending the Oxford vaccine for this older age group – even though the EU medicines watchdog, The European Medicines Agency, have now approved the Oxford vaccine for use throughout the EU, including Germany, for all adults.

Germany is not taking a different approach because the jab doesn’t work for that age group or because it is unsafe, they have qualms about the amount of evidence available.

More than 23,000 people around the world were given the Oxford vaccine as part of clinical trials in 2020.

However, over-65s were recruited much later in the process, meaning the data for this age group is limited.

It’s generally agreed that studies showed that the immune system in older age groups responded strongly to the vaccine. There were only two cases of Covid reported in over65s involved, compared to eight among people in the same age group given a placebo.

German regulators believe this is ‘insufficient data’ to recommend its use, and intend to use the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for this age group. But health officials in the UK are confident. Dr Mark Ramsey, head of immunisations at Public Health England, called the Oxford trial data ‘very reassuring.’

QHave the symptoms of Covid changed now?

ALast week data was released showing that people with the new Kent variant developed symptoms that differed from the first variants. People with the mutation are more likely to get a cough, sore throat, tiredness and muscle pain. They are also less likely to lose their sense of taste and smell or report high temperatures, both generally understood to be primary symptoms of the original virus. Warwick University virologist Professor Lawrence Young said: ‘This variant is more transmissible and infected individuals appear to have more of the virus in their bodies.’ This, he added, could account for the rise in those reporting muscle pain and fatigue.