Astra Zeneca's vaccine against covid-19 does not protect people over the age of 65 and can therefore be stopped from use in the age group, sources tell the German newspaper Bild.
According to information to Handelsblatt, the vaccine's effectiveness should be as low as 8 percent in the age group, according to Bild, the figure is less than 10 percent.
Therefore, the vaccine risks not being approved for use in the elderly by the EU's EMA.
Both newspapers refer to the fact that the information comes from government sources.
Refers to study
Astra Zeneca rejects the information and calls it "completely incorrect".
The pharmaceutical company states in a written comment to SVT that the information that the German newspapers report is incorrect and that a study published in The Lancet showed that older adults got a strengthened immune system from the vaccine.
"Information that the effect of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine is as low as 8% in adults over the age of 65 is completely incorrect.
In the UK, JCVI supported use in this population and MHRA included this group without dose adjustment in the emergency clearance.
In November, we published data in The Lancet that showed that older adults showed strong immune responses to the vaccine, where 100 percent of the older adults generated nail-specific antibodies after the second dose ", writes Astra Zeneca in a comment to SVT.
In the past, there have been reports of Astra Zeneca's problems delivering the quantities of vaccines that the EU has paid in advance.
The European Commission has called on Astra Zeneca to find solutions to speed up vaccine deliveries.