The UK advisory body said the Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca PLC should not be given preferentially to people under the age of 30, due to concerns that it causes life-threatening blood clots in very rare cases.
Wednesday’s decision to restrict the vaccine to younger people is an obstacle to the UK’s flagship inoculation boost and leaves the country increasingly dependent on Covid-19 fires developed and produced in other countries.
It also produces another blow to the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, which have faced questions about its effectiveness and potential side effects, even though tens of millions of doses have been administered following the signing of safety in fish. 70 countries around the world.
The vaccine, which, unlike others, should not be stored at extremely cold temperatures, has been considered essential for the launch of the vaccine in poorer countries, many with relatively young populations.
The speed of the UK’s fast-track vaccination program should not be affected by the decision, as long as vaccine stocks hold up, British officials said. “It is a correction of the course, if you will, of the UK program,” said British medical director Jonathan Van-Tam.