German panel advises against AstraZeneca vaccine for over 65s | Al Jazeera

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine should only be given to people aged between 18 and 64, Germany’s vaccine committee has recommended, a day ahead of a decision by European regulators on whether to approve the drugmaker’s shot.

The recommendation for Germany comes as the European Union, which is scrambling for vaccine supplies, warned AstraZeneca to deliver shots as promised despite a shortfall in its first-quarter vaccine output caused by a glitch in its European supply chain.

“There are currently insufficient data available to assess the vaccine efficacy from 65 years of age,” the German committee, also known as STIKO, said in a draft recommendation made available by the German health ministry on Thursday.

The European Union approved a vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech in late December and gave the green light to a shot made by Moderna in early January, both based on so-called mRNA technology.

The bloc’s drugs regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), is due to issue a recommendation on AstraZeneca’s vaccine, co-developed by Oxford University, on Friday.

STIKO said that, apart from the age caveat for the AstraZeneca product, all three were equally suited for use.