Coronavirus: Canada Now Recommends AstraZeneca Vaccine For People 65 Years Old

The scientific committee that advises the government of Canada on immunization, this Tuesday expanded its recommendation on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against covid-19. Now, they suggest inoculating people 65 and older with these doses.

This is a turnaround for the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (CCNI), which in early March recommended limiting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people ages 18 to 64.

The CCNI said in a statement that it had considered three recent studies on the efficacy of the vaccine “in real settings” to support this change in recommendation.

The committee had initially limited use of the vaccine to people ages 18 to 64 because of the “small” number of people 65 and older who had participated in phase 3 clinical trials of the AstraZeneca vaccine, he said.

However, “evidence” from the UK, where the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical vaccine has been administered to people aged 65 years and over, demonstrates “the high safety and efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the elderly, particularly against the elderly. severe cases of covid-19 and hospitalization, “said the CCNI.

The recommendation comes after fifteen countries, including Germany, France and Italy, suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure following reports of possible blood clots, although no relationship between these and the administered product.

“At this time, the Ministry of Health of Canada is monitoring the events, but considers that, given the risks associated with covid-19 (…), it is preferable to continue being vaccinated with the vaccines available in Canada, including AstraZeneca ”, explained a head of the department, Marc Berthiaume, in a press conference.

“Our recommendation is not related to what is happening in Europe,” said the president of the CCNI, Dr. Caroline Quach.

AstraZeneca vaccine lots received at Canada They come from the Serum Institute of India and are different from those incriminated in Europe, Berthiaume added.

“The AstraZeneca vaccine is currently considered, based on available data, to be safe, effective and of good quality,” he said.

However, the committee recommends, “in the context of limited vaccine supply,” that people at increased risk of severe disease and death be given priority to receive doses of messenger RNA vaccines, such as those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

The CCNI says it will “review your recommendation if necessary.”