The World Health Organization recommendations for the use of the Oxford / AstraZeneca
The Covid-19 vaccine, AZD1222, covers all people 18 and older, including older adults.
In a briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Joachim Hombach, Executive Secretary of WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization said:
The immune response in people over 65 is almost the same as in younger people, and that gives us a lot of confidence. “
The new recommendations were published Wednesday, noting that for some populations, the data is limited or nonexistent – including children, pregnant women, breastfeeding women and other groups. “Until such data are available, vaccination of persons under the age of 18 is not recommended,” the guidelines said.
“The available data on vaccination with AZD1222 of pregnant women are insufficient to assess the efficacy of the vaccine or the risks associated with the vaccine during pregnancy. However, it should be noted that AZD1222 is a non-replicating vaccine,” it says. It added that “WHO does not recommend pregnancy testing prior to vaccination. WHO does not recommend delaying pregnancy due to vaccination.”
For breastfeeding women, the guideline says that “a nursing woman who is part of a group recommended for vaccination, for example health professionals, should receive vaccination on an equal basis.” It also said it does not recommend discontinuing breastfeeding after vaccination
At the same briefing, WHO also recommended the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine in countries where variants of the coronavirus are in circulation.
The expert group looked at two aspects of the circulation of the variants in relation to the AstraZeneca vaccine, Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, Chairman of WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, Cravioto explained.
In the UK, Cravioto said preliminary analysis showed a slightly reduced efficacy against the variant first noticed there. The analysis also showed a limited reduction in neutralization titres, which means that the vaccine still has a good effect on the protection of people infected with that variant.
In South Africa, Cravioto said preliminary analysis showed a “marked reduction” in the effectiveness of vaccines against mild or moderate disease in a variant first noted there. The analysis also showed a reduction in neutralizing antibody levels. However, he said the study was small and did not allow evaluation of the vaccine against serious infection. He noted that there is circumstantial evidence that there is still protection against serious illness.
Given all these factors, we have recommended that even if this vaccine is less likely to have a full impact on its protective capacity, especially against serious diseases, there is no reason not to recommend its use, even in countries . that have the circulation of the variant, ”Cravioto said.