Speaking to Italian newspaper La Stampa, the head of the European Medicines Agency task force on COVID-19, Marco Cavaleri, has advised countries against giving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to those over the age of 60.
"In a pandemic context, our position was and is that the risk-benefit ratio remains favourable for all age groups,” Cavaleri said. However, as COVID-19 infections fell, he said it would be better to take vaccines made using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology like those made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
Asked whether health authorities should avoid giving the Astrazeneca vaccine to people aged over 60, Cavaleri said: "Yes, and many countries, such as France and Germany, are considering it in the light of greater availability of mRNA vaccines."
His statement came a day after the Italian government said it would restrict the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to those over 60, after a teenager died following getting vaccinated on May 25. While no causal link has been found between the teenager’s death and the jab, the incident has revived concerns over the vaccine’s safety given earlier reports of blood clots.
In May, the EMA had said it considers the overall benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine to outweigh the risks, but noted “very rare cases” of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets.
Countries like Sweden, Latvia, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway and The Netherlands were among those that stopped the use of the shot following the initial blood clot reports. However, many including Italy resumed its use later.
