[News] AstraZeneca vaccine questioned about its efficacy against South African variant

[#Steeven.™]

AstraZeneca's covid-19 vaccine was tested by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) because its efficacy in older people and against the South African variant of the virus is questioned. Even the immunization campaign in South Africa was temporarily suspended.

The UK was the first country to administer the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine en masse in December, but it has already been approved by other nations and by the European Union (EU).

However, due to the lack of data on its efficacy in the older po[CENSORED]tion, some governments decided to recommend its use for people under 65 years of age, or even 55, as in the case of Spain.

This past Sunday, South Africa suspended the start of its vaccination program, which was to start with one million doses of AstraZeneca / Oxford. All due to a study that questions the effectiveness of the vaccine. According to the first results of the study, this vaccine is only 22% effective against mild forms of the disease caused by the South African variant.

"It is too early to reject this vaccine" which is "an important part of the global response to the current pandemic," said Richard Hatchett, one of those responsible for the Covax mechanism to ensure a fair distribution of the means to combat it. covid-19.

"We believe that our vaccine will nevertheless protect against the serious forms of the disease," said an AstraZeneca spokesman on his side. In addition, this vaccine is cheaper and easier to store, because it does not require a very low temperature. That makes it more suitable for mass vaccination campaigns.