Norway Decides Not to Vaccinate AstraZeneca for Those Aged 65 and Over

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Norway has decided not to administer the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford to those aged 65 and older.

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) stated on the 3rd (local time) that there were few participants aged 65 and older in the AstraZeneca vaccine clinical trials, resulting in insufficient data regarding the vaccine's effectiveness in the elderly.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended conditional approval for the sale of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine within the EU for individuals aged 18 and older on the 29th of last month.

However, Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden, and others have recommended administering the vaccine only to those under 65 due to the lack of sufficient data on its effectiveness in the elderly.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) also recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine only for those under 70 for the same reason, AFP reported yesterday.

THL added, "If additional research data on vaccine effectiveness in other age groups becomes available, recommendations will be revised if necessary."

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