Denmark to recommend AstraZeneca vaccine for under-65s only
The Danish Health Authority has said it will recommend the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine against Covid-19 be given to people under the age of 65 who are not at risk of serious illness due to the virus.
Denmark has so far used vaccines from two other suppliers, Pfizer and Moderna, with the first deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was recently approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), expected next week.
But it will not be recommended for older people in Denmark, with the country’s health authority citing a lack of documentation as to its efficacy for the group.
The Danish Health Authority will therefore generally recommend that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given to people under the age of 65 who are not at risk of serious illness due to the virus, the authority said in a statement.
“We have reviewed the documentation and until we have seen more data on the effect amongst older people, our recommendation is that the vaccine from AstraZeneca first and foremost should be an offer for people under 65 years without increased risk of a serious outcome from Covid-19,” Danish Health Authority departmental director Bolette Søborg said in the statement.
Although the vaccine has been approved by the EMA for everyone over 18 years old, the agency said there is not sufficient documentation of its benefits for people over the age of 55.
That is because there is not yet enough data available to assess the effect of the vaccine within the specified age group, the EMA has said.
The AstraZeneca vaccine was approved with a documented effectiveness of around 60 percent.
Although there were cases of coronavirus amongst vaccinated participants in clinical trials of the vaccine, there were no serious illnesses or hospitalisations amongst those persons.
READ ALSO: Denmark to introduce 'digital passport' to document Covid-19 vaccination
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Denmark has so far used vaccines from two other suppliers, Pfizer and Moderna, with the first deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was recently approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), expected next week.
But it will not be recommended for older people in Denmark, with the country’s health authority citing a lack of documentation as to its efficacy for the group.
The Danish Health Authority will therefore generally recommend that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given to people under the age of 65 who are not at risk of serious illness due to the virus, the authority said in a statement.
“We have reviewed the documentation and until we have seen more data on the effect amongst older people, our recommendation is that the vaccine from AstraZeneca first and foremost should be an offer for people under 65 years without increased risk of a serious outcome from Covid-19,” Danish Health Authority departmental director Bolette Søborg said in the statement.
Although the vaccine has been approved by the EMA for everyone over 18 years old, the agency said there is not sufficient documentation of its benefits for people over the age of 55.
That is because there is not yet enough data available to assess the effect of the vaccine within the specified age group, the EMA has said.
The AstraZeneca vaccine was approved with a documented effectiveness of around 60 percent.
Although there were cases of coronavirus amongst vaccinated participants in clinical trials of the vaccine, there were no serious illnesses or hospitalisations amongst those persons.
READ ALSO: Denmark to introduce 'digital passport' to document Covid-19 vaccination
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