Recommended AZ Under-60s Halt To Set Back Vaccination Campaign Further

The German vaccination commission has recommended that the AstraZeneca/Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine is only used on men and women over the age of 60 according to Focus Online.

• The recommendation comes on the back of authorities in Berlin halting the use of the AZ vaccine on anyone under 60, with Canada doing the same for anyone under 55.
• The decisions seem to have been made while more investigations are carried out on the prospect of the AZ vaccine causing vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT), potentially deadly blood clots. Reuters reports that the Paul Ehrlich Institute found 19 cases of VIPIT among those who had received the AZ jab, resulting in 9 deaths.
• Germany has administered 15.36 vaccines per 100 of its population according to the latest data, close to the EU average but well below the two frontrunning major DMs, the US and the UK.
• The EMA has said there is no evidence of the AZ jab causing clots, and there have been no reported issues with blood clotting in the UK, which has administered the AZ vaccine widely.
• The decision in Germany, and other countries is likely to come down to perceived risk. For younger people the risk of suffering VIPIT from an AZ jab may be seen as higher than that of contracting COVID-19. However, given the significant reduction in asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 afforded by the vaccine, the benefit for wider society and the economy may be to get as many people vaccinated of any age with any approved vaccine.