German Entity Recommends Giving AstraZeneca Vaccine Only to People Under Age 65

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “AstraZeneca’s vaccine against Covid-19 is currently recommended for people aged between 18 and 64, based on the available data.”

This is the conclusion of the report by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a recognized entity in Germany for infectious diseases, on the Oxford University and AstraZeneca pharmaceutical company’s immunizer, which should be approved on Friday by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to be used in all European Union member states. It is also the Brazilian government’s choice, along with Coronavac, produced by the Butantan in partnership with the Chinese Sinovac laboratory.

The RKI states in the preliminary text of a report that data on the vaccine’s efficacy in people over 65 years of age are still scarce and do not allow conclusions to be drawn, although it emphasizes that the drug is safe.

The report was released on Thursday, January 28th, in several local media, which reported incorrect statements, such as that the government expected an 8% efficacy in people over 65 years of age. The draft report does not conclude this; instead it explains that the data released by the pharmaceutical company are not statistically significant. The group of tested subjects over 65 years of age is small: 341 people were administered the vaccine and 319 were given a placebo.

Later, only one in each group contracted the coronavirus. This precludes convincing statements, according to the Standing Committee on Immunization of the Robert Koch Institute (STIKO). The final report will be released this Friday, confirmed a spokesperson for the entity, after the EMA has made its recommendation.

Should the agency’s recommendation be confirmed, the vaccine could be used on healthcare professionals and people aged 60 to 65, German media have predicted. After disclosing the scientists’ opinion, Health Minister Jens Spahn clarified that the recommendation is not final.

The report was released amid a crisis between the European Union, the United Kingdom and AstraZeneca. The European Commission is angered because the pharmaceutical company suddenly announced last week that it would not be able to deliver all the doses pledged to Europe for the first quarter of the year.

The Commission wants vaccines manufactured on British soil to be used to fulfil its commitment and is reserving its right to ban the export of vials from EU territory. The United Kingdom is trying to avert disputes while safeguarding its own supply.

Following the information in the Robert Koch Institute report, Mary Ramsey, the head of Immunization of the UK’s Public Health Agency, guaranteed that the British vaccine is as safe as Pfizer’s and offers high levels of protection against Covid-19, particularly against the development of severe conditions.

Ramsey said in a press release that few elderly people took part in trials, but “the data on immunological responses were highly reassuring.” “The risk of serious illness and death increases exponentially with age, so the priority is to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible, as quickly as possible with any of the approved vaccines, to protect more people and save more lives,” she added.

The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine will be the third to be granted the EMA’s endorsement for a conditional marketing authorization in the EU. The two already approved, Pfizer and Moderna, are produced with the coronavirus genetic material (RNA), while the British vaccine is based on an attenuated version of a genetically modified common cold adenovirus in chimpanzees to include instructions that instruct the immune system how to defend itself against infections.

This type of vaccine has several advantages over the other two, among them its lower price and the fact that it is stored in conventional refrigerators, whereas Pfizer’s immunizer requires a constant storage temperature of -70°C.

The EMA did not wish to comment on the German experts’ recommendation and sent a note stating that on Friday, January 29th, it will issue its own recommendation. The director, Emer Cooke, will hold an online press conference early in the afternoon to report its decision.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is currently being administered in the United Kingdom, which has a much faster vaccination rate than European Union countries, and has no age limitations.