GENEVA (PA) – Independent experts advising the World Health Organization on immunization on Wednesday recommended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine even in countries with worrying coronavirus variants in their populations.
The advice of WHO experts is used by health officials around the world, but it is not a green light for the United Nations and its partners to send the vaccine to countries that have signed up to receive photos through a global initiative. This approval could come after separate meetings of the WHO group on Friday and Monday to assess whether an emergency use list for the AstraZeneca vaccine is needed.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is important because it accounts for most of the stock gained so far from the UN-led effort, known as COVAX, which aims to deliver coronavirus vaccines to humans globally. COVAX plans to start transporting hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine worldwide by the end of this month, but this is conditional on WHO approval for vaccination, vaccine stocks and the availability of countries to receive it.
But the vaccine has faced growing concern. After an early study suggested it might be less effective against a variant first seen in South Africa, the South African government rushed to adjust its COVID-19 vaccination program.
“Even if there is a reduction in the possibility of this vaccine having a full impact on its ability to protect, especially against severe diseases, there is no reason not to recommend its use even in countries with variants,” said Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, Chair of the WHO Expert Group.
Instead of launching 1 million doses of AstraZeneca as planned, South Africa’s health minister said on Wednesday that the government would begin immunizing health workers with Johnson & Johnson’s unlicensed shooting.
The recommendations of the expert group on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed at Oxford University in the UK, largely reflect those previously issued by the European Medicines Agency and the UK Medicines Regulatory Authority.
Cravioto said the AstraZeneca vaccine should be used in older age groups, despite the lack of solid data, similar to the advice of the EMA and the UK.
“This means that people over the age of 65 should be vaccinated,” he said.
However, countries, including Germany, France and Belgium, have stated that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be used in the elderly, citing insufficient evidence.
The WHO scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, mentioned that the AstraZeneca shot requires refrigerated storage – not the much lower temperatures required for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that the group has already recommended for use.
To date, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one that has received a WHO emergency use list.
The panel noted that “preliminary analyzes” showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine had low efficacy against coronavirus variants that appeared in the UK and South Africa. However, studies have been too small to produce definitive results, and scientists believe vaccines could help reduce severe diseases that would slow the pandemic greatly.
“Any decision to leave vulnerable populations completely unprotected is a risky decision at this time,” said Michael Head, a 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 be given preference for vaccine doses, saying that this would “run counter to the principle of fairness”, while adding that there is still no evidence as to whether vaccinations have reduced transmission.
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