Coronavirus in the UK: Boris Johnson rejects Germany ruling Astrazeneca jab should not be recommended to over 65s

During his visit to Scotland, Boris Johnson has said he is not concerned by Germany ruling the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be recommended for under 65s, arguing that evidence shows it "provides a good immune response across all age groups".

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the French biotechnology laboratory Valneva in Livingston, west Scotland, today after dismissing Germany's stance on not recommending the Astrazeneca jab to over 65's (Photo by Wattie Cheung / POOL / AFP).

The Prime Minister joined Public Health England (PHE) in defending the use of the jab after a draft recommendation from Germany's vaccination advisory committee on Thursday claimed there was insufficient data to recommend it for those aged 65 and over.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at PHE, acknowledged there had been "too few cases" of coronavirus in older people in Phase 3 clinical trials to determine the level of efficacy in this age group, but said other data on immune response had been "reassuring".

Mr Johnson, during a visit to Scotland, said he does not agree with the German ruling, as he backed the advice from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Asked if he is concerned about the verdict in Germany, he told reporters: "No, because I think the MHRA, our own authorities have made it very clear that they think the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is very good and efficacious, gives a high degree of protection after just one dose and even more after two doses.

"And the evidence they've supplied is they think it's effective across all age groups and provides a good immune response across all age groups."

He added: "I don't agree with that."

MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine said: "Current evidence does not suggest any lack of protection against Covid-19 in people aged 65 or over.

"The data we have shows that the vaccine produces a strong immune response in the over 65s.

"More data is continually becoming available for this age group and our Public Assessment Report, available on our website, will be updated to reflect this."

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to approve the vaccine for use in the EU on Friday, although it is not yet clear whether it will set an age limit.

But the German authorities said: "There currently is not sufficient data to assess the vaccination effectiveness from 65 years."

Dr Ramsay said the vaccines are safe and provide "high levels of protection" against Covid-19, and "particularly against severe disease".

"There were too few cases in older people in the AstraZeneca trials to observe precise levels of protection in this group, but data on immune responses were very reassuring," she added.

"The risk of severe disease and death increase exponentially with age - the priority is to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible with either vaccine, to protect more people and save more lives."

Oxford University, which partnered with AstraZeneca to develop the vaccine, has said its jab offers high protection against severe disease and prevents people needing to go to hospital.

AstraZeneca said: "The latest analyses of clinical trial data for the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine support efficacy in the over 65 years age group."

"We await a regulatory decision on the vaccine by the EMA in the coming days."

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