Germany opens up to using AstraZeneca vaccine with those over 65

The committee that advises the German government on the coronavirus vaccination strategy will issue a new recommendation on the use of the vaccine from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca "very soon," its president, virologist Thomas Mertens, said on Friday.

Germany was the first European country to limit the administration of this vaccine to those under 65 years of age due to lack of sufficient data on its efficacy in the older population.

That decision contributed to generating the reputational problem that this immunization now carries, as Mertens acknowledged in an interview on the second German public channel, ZDF.

"It all went a bit wrong," she said, to questions from the interviewer about the refusal of many essential workers to receive it.

However, Mertens defended the work of the Permanent Commission of Vaccination (Stiko, in its initials in German): "We had the data that we had and we made the recommendation based on that data."

Stiko's decisions are not binding, but up to now Angela Merkel's government has always endorsed them.

Mertens asked that the terms of his recommendation not be confused.

“We never criticize the vaccine;

We only criticized the fact that the data for the group over 65 years were not good or were insufficient.

You have to distinguish, "he said.

AstraZeneca's preparation is “very good” and “we will value it even better thanks to the new data that is now being added”.

The committee's experts have been analyzing “very closely” a recent study published in Scotland that concludes, based on data from the public health service, that the income of people over 80 years of age fell by 81% from the fourth week of vaccination.

This would confirm an efficacy in the elderly similar to that of younger age groups.

The work has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal.

"There are still some questions to ask about this study and we have already posed them directly to the authors," Mertens said.

One of the characteristics of vaccination in the United Kingdom is that it has extended the interval between the first puncture and the second, against the specifications of the manufacturers, with the aim that the largest number of people can receive a first injection as soon as possible. immunization.

Asked if this strategy could also be followed in Germany, Mertens said: "I think it is possible, especially with the AstraZeneca vaccine, that an even longer interval can be decided."

Germany has vaccinated just over two million people (2.4% of its population) with the full schedule.

In all, he has administered six million doses, the vast majority from Pfizer.

Despite the fact that it has received about a million and a half doses of AstraZeneca, on Friday it had only used 21.7% of them due to the misgivings of the population for which they are intended, especially health personnel.

Pfizer's vaccination rate is at a good pace: almost 80% of those delivered (more than six and a half million) had already been inoculated.

This Saturday the arrival of a new shipment is expected.

Next Wednesday, March 3, the Chancellor meets with the leaders of the federal states to assess the situation of the coronavirus and decide whether to extend the restrictions that currently keep the hotel industry, leisure and culture closed (from November 2) and non-essential trade (as of mid-December).

Hairdressers will open on March 1, the only exception that Merkel and the regional presidents agreed in their last meeting.

The schools and nurseries in most states have opened this week after two months without face-to-face classes.

Germany registers a cumulative incidence of 64.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days.

In the last week, cases are rebounding after a month of sustained decline, so it is not at all clear that restrictions will be relaxed.