Astra vaccine for the elderly first… Macron “No effect over 65”

Controversy is growing in Europe over the efficacy of the UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca vaccine. Even the French President Emmanuel Macron is insisting on “the useless theory of age 65 or older,” and attention is also focused on the results of the first “expert vaccine advisory meeting” announced by the government on the 1st.

According to AFP news agency on the 29th (local time), President Macron said in a media interview held at the Elysee Palace that day, “Officially speaking, AstraZeneca vaccination is not recommended to those aged 60 to 65.” “I think it’s no different than invalid for those over 65”Said. He said, “There is only very little information (about the vaccine).”

The reason President Macron pointed out the’lack of information’ about the AstraZeneca vaccine is because of the experimental group that was limited to young people at the time of the clinical trial. AstraZeneca published the results of a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine clinical trial in the medical journal’Ratsit’ on December 8 last year. According to this paper, only 9.7% of the participants in clinical trials conducted in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa were aged 65 or older. Compared to the Pfizer vaccine, the elderly accounted for 22% of the clinical study subjects, the proportion of elderly people was small.

In other European countries, doubts are being raised over the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine in vaccination for the elderly. Earlier, the Vaccination Committee of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Germany announced on the 27th that “Because the number of participants in the study is small in the age group over 65, it is impossible to conclude about the effectiveness and safety for the elderly.” The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) also approved the AstraZeneca vaccine on the 30th, recommending that people over the age of 55 get another vaccine. However, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on the 29th, “As a result of evaluating the quality, safety, and efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine, it is recommended to approve conditional use over 18 years of age.” Initially, it was observed that EMA would limit vaccinations over 65 years old, but this was not included in the official announcement.

The government is pushing for the introduction of AstraZeneca vaccine for up to 2.19 million people in the first half. This is a figure including the amount of first-time imports manufactured by consignment in Korea (SK Bioscience). With workers in high-risk medical institutions It was planned to inoculate 566,000 elderly people living in group facilities such as nursing homes and nursing homes.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held a’Corona 19 Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness Verification Advisory Group’ (Advisory Group) consisting of external experts on the 31st to discuss the safety and effectiveness of AstraZeneca vaccine, clinical significance, and the appropriateness of target patients. . This result is released on the 1st.

AstraZeneca’s side is strongly against the’older uselessness’ of vaccines. AstraZeneca said in a statement that “the elderly showed a strong immune response from vaccination. After the second vaccination, the generation of antibodies to the elderly reached 100%.” Professor John Bell of the University of Oxford, who co-developed the AstraZeneca vaccine, told the BBC, “I have doubts about Macron’s demand management.” “Without a vaccine (developed by France’s own country), the best we can do is reduce demand. It will be,” he criticized.

Reporter Kim Hong-bum [email protected]