France to widen use of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine to elderly

Paris

FRANCE expanded its guidelines for AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, saying it can now be used to immunise the elderly after previously limiting shots to younger people.

All three vaccines currently in use, including Astra's, show "remarkable efficacy," Health Minister Olivier Veran said in an interview on France 2 television on March 1.

France and other European Union countries such as Germany originally advised giving the Astra vaccine only to people under 65, saying there was not enough clinical trial data on efficacy in older people.

Although the European Union's drugs regulator approved the shot for all adults, French President Emmanuel Macron said in January that it appeared to be "quasi-ineffective" in the elderly. Meanwhile, many stocks of the AstraZeneca vaccine have gone unused across the bloc, whose immunisation programme has lagged behind the US and the UK.

New trial data has demonstrated the vaccine's effectiveness in those over 65. A UK study published on March 1 showed that it prevented the vast majority of hospitalisations in older people. A large US test is expected to provide additional information soon.

Other countries including the UK have been administering the shot to older adults since the start of the year, supplying real-life evidence of its efficacy. BLOOMBERG