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Amid a bitter cross-Channel feud over the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, one of the scientists behind the drug accused French President Emmanuel Macron of trying to suppress the request.
On Friday, Macron said the vaccine was “almost ineffective on people over 65, some say those 60 or older.”
“I don’t know where it came from,” John Bell, professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Saturday. “I suspect it is a little bit of demand management from Mr. Macron, ”he said. “If you didn’t have a vaccine, the best thing to do is reduce the demand.
This month, EU leaders reacted angrily to AstraZeneca’s news that production would be well below initially expected volumes. Macron’s new comments came hours before the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine was approved by the European regulator for use in all age groups.
While the European Medicines Agency said there was not yet enough evidence to judge its effectiveness in older people, it said there was no reason to believe the vaccine would fail. would not work.
Bell, who oversaw the development of the vaccine, admitted that the number of older people tested “was low, in fairness”, but the data “still pointed to a very effective vaccine” in all age groups.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is at the heart of an ongoing supply dispute between the UK and the EU. The EU on Friday asked customs authorities to block exports of all vaccines from Saturday without explicit permission – an announcement that would have initially included exports to Northern Ireland.
This sparked an immediate backlash from the EU capitals and London and an overnight U-turn from the European Commission due to the sensitivity of Ireland’s border arrangements.
EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier called for calm in The Times in an interview published on Saturday, saying: “I believe we have to face this crisis with responsibility, certainly not with the spirit of outbidding or unhealthy competition. “
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