Amid a bitter cross-channel feud over the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, one of the scientists behind the drug has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of trying to quell demand.
Friday, Macron said the vaccine was “virtually ineffective in people over 65, some say 60 or older.”
“I’m not sure where he got that,” John Bell, a medical professor at the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program Saturday. he said. “If you didn’t have a vaccine, the best thing you can do is reduce demand.”
EU leaders reacted angrily this month to AstraZeneca’s announcement that production is well below originally expected volumes. Macron’s new comments came hours before the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine was approved by the EU regulator for use in all age groups.
Although the European Medicines Agency said there was not yet enough evidence to rate effectiveness in the elderly, they said there was no reason to believe the vaccine would not work.
Bell, who oversaw the development of the vaccine, admitted that the number of older people tested was “fairly small,” but the data still “indicated a highly effective vaccine” in all age groups.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is at the heart of an ongoing supply hiss between the UK and the EU. The EU asked customs on Friday to block exports of all vaccines from Saturday without explicit permission – an announcement that initially would have included exports to Northern Ireland.
That caused an immediate backlash from both the EU capitals and London and a nighttime turnaround for the European Commission due to the sensitivities of Ireland’s border regulations.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator for Brexit, urged the Times to calm down in an interview published Saturday, saying, “I believe we should tackle this crisis with competition.”
Would you like more analysis of POLITICS? POLITICS Pro is our premium intelligence service for professionals. From financial services to commerce, technology, cybersecurity and more, Pro delivers the real-time information, deep insights and groundbreaking scoops you need to stay one step ahead. E-mail [email protected] to request a free trial.