France lifts restrictions on giving Oxford/AstraZeneca jab to over-65s

France is to expand its use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to include people aged over 65 after additional clinical data proved its efficacy in that age group, reversing the position Paris took a month ago.

Health minister Olivier Véran announced the change in an interview with France Télévisions on Monday night, pointing to advice from a panel of experts advising the French government.

“The Haute Autorité de Santé now considers as of today that all three vaccines that we have in France have a remarkable efficacy to protect people against the risk of severe forms of Covid-19,” said the minister.

“As a result, I can announce that from now on everyone aged 50 and above who have comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure or a history of cancer can be vaccinated with AstraZeneca without any age limits.”

The previous advice had been for the UK-Swedish company’s vaccine to be given only to people aged 50 to 64 with comorbidities or to healthcare workers, while the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were to be reserved for those over 75.

The age restrictions had the unintended effect of slowing France’s vaccination campaign, leading to a build-up of stockpiles of Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs. As of Monday, France had only used 24 per cent of the 1.1m Oxford/AstraZeneca doses it had received, according to health ministry data.

That pace should now pick up. French doctors began offering the jab to their patients last week, and pharmacists are also expected to be able to administer doses soon.

Similar problems with build-ups of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab have occurred in other European countries such as Germany, Italy and Spain where health authorities have recommended age restrictions.

In contrast, the European Medicines Agency, the EU regulator, backed its use for all individuals aged 18 and over. The UK has also been using the jab widely for older people in its vaccination campaign, which has been running ahead of the rollout on the continent.

The French policy change will probably be followed by similar moves in other countries. On Sunday, German health officials promised to issue an “updated recommendation” that will “make adjustments to this point” — referring to the age restrictions.

On Tuesday, France’s scientific advisory panel on vaccines is expected to detail the reasoning behind the decision. But French officials last week had referred to a recent study published in Scotland that showed that the AstraZeneca shot lowered the chance of hospitalisation from four to six weeks after vaccination by 94 per cent after one shot, and was also effective in older people.