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GENEVA (AP) – Independent experts advising the World Health Organization on immunization on Wednesday recommended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine even in countries which have revealed worrying coronavirus variants in their populations.
WHO expert advice is used by health officials around the world, but is not a green light for the United Nations and its partners to ship the vaccine to countries that have signed up to receive the vaccines in as part of a global initiative. This approval could come after separate WHO group meetings on Friday and Monday to assess whether an emergency use list for the AstraZeneca vaccine is warranted.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is important because it forms the bulk of the stock acquired so far by the UN-backed effort known as COVAX, which aims to roll out coronavirus vaccines around the world. COVAX plans to start shipping hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine globally later this month, but that depends on WHO approval for the vaccine, vaccine stocks and the willingness of countries to. receive it.
But the vaccine has faced growing concerns. After an initial study suggested it might be less effective against a variant first seen in South Africa, the South African government rushed to fine-tune its COVID-19 vaccination program.
“Even though there is a reduction in the possibility that this vaccine will have a full impact on its ability to protect, especially against serious disease, there is no reason not to recommend its use even in countries that have variants circulation, ”said Dr Alejandro Cravioto, chair of the WHO expert group.
Instead of rolling out 1 million doses of AstraZeneca as planned, the South African Minister of Health said on Wednesday the government would start vaccinating health workers with the still unauthorized vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
The recommendations of the expert group on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed at the University of Oxford in Great Britain, largely mirror those made earlier by the European Medicines Agency and the UK medicines regulator.
Cravioto said the AstraZeneca vaccine should be used in older age groups despite the lack of strong data, similar to advice from the EMA and Britain.
“This means that people over 65 should be vaccinated,” he said.
Countries like Germany, France and Belgium, however, have said the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be used in the elderly, citing insufficient evidence.
WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan noted that the AstraZeneca vaccine should be stored at refrigerator temperature – not the much colder temperatures required of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that the group has already recommended for it. use.
So far, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only vaccine to receive a WHO emergency use list.
The expert group noted that “preliminary analyzes” have shown that the AstraZeneca vaccine has reduced efficacy against the coronavirus variants that have emerged in Britain and South Africa. Still, the studies were too small to produce definitive results, and scientists believe vaccines could still be helpful in reducing serious illness, which would significantly slow the pandemic.
“Any decision to leave vulnerable populations completely unprotected is a risky decision at this time,” said Michael Head, senior researcher at the University of Southampton. “Therefore, it is good to see the WHO recommending the use of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine in all age groups, including older populations,” he said in a statement.
The WHO expert group also said that international travelers should not have a preference for vaccine doses, saying this “would contradict the principle of fairness” while adding that there was no more evidence as to whether vaccinations reduced transmission.
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