EMA Publishes Full Overview Of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Authorisation

The European Medicines Agency has published its full overview of the authorisation provided for the AstraZeneca/Oxford University Vaccine.

• A major row erupted in January when an article in the German paper Handelsblatt (incorrectly) claimed that according to a senior gov't source the AZ vaccine was only 8% effective on older age groups. Following this, French President Emmanuel Macron also raised doubts publicly about the efficacy of the vaccine, and several member state health bodies have officially recommended the vaccine is not given to those in older age groups.
• Today's publication from the EMA confirms its previous view that, "Most of the participants in these studies were between 18 and 55 years old. There were not enough results in older participants (over 55 years old) to provide a figure for how well the vaccine will work in this group. However, protection is expected, given that an immune response is seen in this age group and based on experience with other vaccines; as there is reliable information on safety in this population, EMA's scientific experts considered that the vaccine can be used in older adults."