Ministry of Health: AstraZeneca Vaccine Could Be Used for Population Aged 65 and over
The Ministry of Health affirmed on Thursday that several elements make it possible to maintain the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the age group of over 65, as initially recommended in the national anti-Covid-19 vaccination strategy.
In a press release relating the opinion of the Adhoc National Scientific Committee for the development of the vaccine strategy against Sars-Cov-2, the Ministry of Health specified, in particular, that the anti-Covid vaccine developed by Astra Zeneca has obtained the authorization for use, without an age limit to 65, by the European Medicines Agency and the health authorities of several countries, including Morocco.
The phase 3 clinical trial of this vaccine includes a subgroup of people aged over 65, among whom 687 people have received the vaccine, 4 of whom have developed Covid-19 and 666 people in the control group, of whom 7 have developed Covid-19, noted the press release, issued following the committee meeting, held on Thursday.
To date, the data from this clinical trial do not allow conclusions to be drawn about the exclusion of this age group of beneficiaries of this vaccine, said the same source.
In addition, it should be noted that protection is expected for this age group, given that high seroconversion rates have been observed in adults over 65 years after the first dose (97.8%) and the second dose (100%).
Regarding the safety of this vaccine, published data show that the reported side effects are generally milder and less frequent in people aged over 65, compared to younger people, it noted.
According to the press release, this opinion is issued following questions raised in recent days about the efficacy and safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the population aged 65.
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