France Agency Recommends AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine for Those Aged 55 And Older

(Bloomberg) -- France’s health agency Haute Autorite de la Sante recommended on Friday that AstraZeneca’s vaccine against the coronavirus be limited to people aged from 55 years old, a spokesperson said on the phone, asking not to be identified in line with the agency’s policy.

For those under 55 years old, HAS recommends the use of other vaccines after the European Medicines Agency said that AstraZeneca’s vaccine may increase thrombosis risk even as it is safe and efficient.

On Feb. 2, HAS recommended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for those under 65, with a priority for medical staff and for people from 50 years old who are at higher risk of contracting severe infections from coronavirus, and included those over 65 on March 1.

HAS will give a recommendation in coming days on how to administer a second shot to those under 55 years old who have already received their first AstraZeneca shot

The recommendation is non binding and the French government is free to follow it or not, the HAS official said. A representative of the health ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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