AstraZeneca vaccine for those aged 65 and up under scrutiny

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccines. [YONHAP]

Administration of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine to people aged 65 or above should be decided carefully, health experts said Friday.

The advisory board consisting of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety officials and outside experts said in the statement data on the effectiveness of the vaccine on the age group is “insufficient and therefore [its use] should be decided carefully.”

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine was co-developed by Oxford University.

The statement follows a number of European countries, including Germany, which said AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine should not be given to people older than 65 due to the small number of study participants in that age group.

The ministry plans to further review data on the quality of the vaccine before it decides on whether to grant emergency approval.

AstraZeneca vaccine doses for up to 2.2 million people are expected to be provided in Korea in the first half of this year under the World Health Organization’s global vaccine Covax Facility project.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]