WHO expert group recommends use of AstraZeneca vaccine
Independent experts advising the World Health Organization have recommended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to fight COVID-19 even in countries that have turned up worrying coronavirus variants in their populations, amid growing doubts about its effectiveness against one that emerged in South Africa
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Independent experts advising the World Health Organization on Wednesday recommended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine even in countries that turned up worrying coronavirus variants in their populations.
There had been doubts about the vaccine's effectiveness against a variant that emerged in South Africa.
The advice is used by health care officials worldwide, but doesn't amount to a WHO green light for the U.N. and its partners to ship the vaccine. That approval could come after separate WHO group meetings on Friday and Monday to assess whether an emergency-use listing for the AstraZeneca vaccine is warranted.
Wednesday's recommendations largely mirror those issued earlier by the European Medicines Agency and U.K. regulator MHRA.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is important because the U.N.-backed COVAX Facility, which aims to deploy coronavirus vaccines to people in need around the world whether in rich or poor countries, hopes to start shipping hundreds of millions of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine starting later this month.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s chief scientist, called the findings from the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts an “important milestone.”
She noted that the vaccine requires storage at refrigerator temperatures — not the far colder temperatures required of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that the group has already recommended for use. So far, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one to receive a WHO emergency use listing.
The expert group noted that “preliminary analyses” showed the AstraZeneca vaccine had reduced effectiveness against coronavirus variants that have emerged in Britain and South Africa.
SAGE also said international travelers shouldn't get preference for vaccine doses, saying that would “counter the principle of equity” as well as a lack of evidence about whether vaccinations reduces the risk of transmission.