The European Commission on Friday granted conditional approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for people aged 18 and over.
Why does it matter: This is the third vaccine to be approved by the commission, hours after the Agency for Emergency Medicines recommended its authorization.
- The EMA said the vaccine was shown to be about 60% effective in its clinical trials, but added that there were not enough data to show results for people over 55.
- The conditional marketing authorization granted by the European Commission means that all 27 EU members can use the photo, but AstraZeneca must provide more data “to confirm that the benefits continue to outweigh the risks”.
The whole picture: European leaders expect the initial supply to be lower than anticipated and are pressing AstraZeneca to deliver doses produced in the UK, writes Dave Lawler of Axios.
- The EU has vaccinated only 2% of its population.
- The EMA’s approval comes after the German health regulator announced that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given to people over the age of 65.
What are they saying: “Ensuring safe vaccines for Europeans is our top priority. With the AstraZeneca vaccine now authorized, an additional 400 million doses will be available in Europe,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.