Like its German neighbor, France will be able to administer the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine, but for the moment not for people over 65 years old.
This is what the High Authority for Health (HAS) recommended on Tuesday 2 February in its public opinion.
"There is a lack of data for patients over 65 years old, these data will arrive in the coming weeks, in the meantime, we recommend its use in those under 65", declared the president of HAS, Dominique Le Guludec, during an online press point.
"This opinion will be reviewed in the light of additional clinical data which we are awaiting shortly."
Moreover, insofar as this vaccine is "very easy to handle, very comparable to that of influenza in its use", the HAS recommends that it can be injected "by pharmacists and midwives, in addition to nurses and doctors ", continued Professor Le Guludec.
The AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored long term in conventional refrigerators, unlike the two others already available, those from Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna, which must be stored at very low temperature (-70 ° C for the first and - 20 ° C for the second).
The opinion of the HAS must now be approved by the government.
If this is the case, which is very likely, France will join the list of countries which advise against the AstraZeneca vaccine for the elderly and thus take the opposite view of the recommendations of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). .
These countries include Germany, Sweden, Poland or Italy.
"10 million doses expected in the next three months"
Their opinions do not mean that the vaccine is not effective in older people, but that we cannot assess this effectiveness on the basis of current data.
The clinical trials, the results of which served as the basis for the authorization of the vaccine by the EMA, only included a small proportion of elderly patients.
The AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered in France to "two particular populations", according to the president of the HAS.
"First, all health and medico-social professionals, regardless of their place of practice, including in the city, mainly because we need them on the front line and they are particularly exposed", she said.
“Second, people between the ages of 50 and 65, starting with those with co-morbidities,” she continued.
"We hope for around 10 million doses (of this vaccine) in the next three months, which will allow 5 million additional people to be vaccinated," said Professor Le Guludec.
AstraZeneca has suffered the wrath of European leaders in recent days because of major delays in deliveries.
With AFP
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