On Mar. 1, French health minister Olivier Véran said the British vaccine could be safely administered 65-to-75-year-olds, even those with co-morbidities such as high blood pressure or diabetes. The doses could be made available relatively quickly at physicians in private practice or at hospitals and pharmacies, the minister said. Those aged over 75 would still be offered either Pfizer or Moderna in a vaccination center.

Proponents of eliminating the age caps on administering the AstraZeneca shot, despite the missing large-trial data for that age bracket, say that it is important to increase the number of inoculations, noting that this vaccine has been proven effective during the ongoing roll-out in Scotland.

Results from Scotland, not yet peer reviewed, are said to show that getting any  Covid vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization four weeks after the first jab, even in people over 70. Those receiving AstraZeneca jab saw a reduced hospitalization risk of 94%, while those who got the Pfizer/BioNTech shot saw only an 85% reduced risk. In the high-risk 80-plus age group, hospital admission generally was reduced by 81% four weeks of receiving a shot, according to reports.

To arrive at the figures, researchers examined Scottish vaccination data between Dec. 8 and Feb. 15, 2021. During this period, 1.14 million vaccines were administered to all age groups. The UK National Health Service did not compile, or at least did not release, any overall efficacy data on individual vaccines apart from the figures mentioned.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the AstraZeneca product for all age groups, but in EU countries where it is age-restricted, some younger people have refused it.  At the end of February, only 273,000 doses had been administered in France, out of the 1.7 million available. In Germany, the lack of acceptance has been attributed to incorrect efficacy figures published by two newspapers, along with heftier than expected reactions among a group of health workers vaccinated.

Outside the EU, some national health authorities are still placing age limits on AstraZeneca’s shot. In granting emergency clearance at the end of February, Canada's immunization authority advised against administering it to people over 65s, citing limited clinical trial data.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist