GENEVA (AP) – Independent experts who advised the World Health Organization on immunization on Wednesday have recommended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, even in countries that have shown worrying variants of coronavirus in their populations.
The WHO experts’ advice is being used by health officials around the world, but does not signify a green light for the United Nations and its partners to ship the vaccine to countries that have signed up to receive the injections through a global initiative. That approval could come after separate meetings of the WHO group on Friday and Monday to assess whether an emergency mention for the AstraZeneca vaccine is warranted.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is important because it makes up the bulk of the supply thus far acquired through the UN-backed effort known as COVAX, which aims to deploy coronavirus vaccines to humans worldwide. COVAX plans to ship hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine worldwide later this month, but that depends on WHO approval of the shot, vaccine stocks, and countries’ willingness to receive it.
But the vaccine has met with growing concern. After an early study suggested it may be less effective against a variant first seen in South Africa, the South African government tried to modify its COVID-19 vaccination program.
“Even if this vaccine is less likely to have a full impact on its ability to protect itself, especially against serious diseases, there is no reason not to recommend its use, even in countries where the variants are circulating,” said Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, Chair of the WHO Expert Group.
Rather than rolling out 1 million AstraZeneca doses as planned, South Africa’s health minister said on Wednesday that the government would immunize health workers with the as-yet-unlicensed injection of Johnson & Johnson.
The expert group’s recommendations on the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed at the University of Oxford in the UK, are largely in line with the recommendations previously made by the European Medicines Agency and the UK medicines regulator.
Cravioto said the AstraZeneca vaccine should be used in older age groups despite the lack of solid data, similar to advice from the EMA and Great Britain.
“That means people over 65 should get the vaccination,” he said.
However, countries including Germany, France and Belgium have said the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be used in older people, providing insufficient evidence.
WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, noted that the AstraZeneca shot should be stored at refrigerator temperatures – not the much colder temperatures required for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine the group has already recommended for use.
So far, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is the only vaccine to receive a WHO emergency list.
The expert group noted that “preliminary analyzes” showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine had reduced efficacy against coronavirus variants emerging in Great Britain and South Africa. Still, the studies were too small to produce definitive results, and scientists believe the vaccines could still be useful in reducing serious illnesses that could slow the pandemic significantly.
“Any decision to leave vulnerable populations completely unprotected is a risky decision right now,” said Michael Head, a senior research fellow at the University of Southampton. “Therefore, it is good to see WHO recommends the use of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine in all age groups, including older populations,” he said in a statement.
The WHO expert group also said that international travelers should not have a preference for vaccine doses, saying that this would “work against the principle of equality,” adding that there was still no evidence that vaccinations would reduce transmission.
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