London:

The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca gives good immune responses in older people, even if there is a lack of data about its exact efficacy, Oxford’s vaccine trial chief Andrew Pollard said on Wednesday.

Asked about a reported comment from French President Emmanuel Macron that the vaccine is “quasi-ineffective” among people over 65, Pollard said, “I don’t understand what that statement means.”

“The point is that we have rather less data in older adults, which is why people have less certainty about the level of protection,” Pollard told BBC radio.

“But we have good immune responses in older adults very similar to younger adults, the protection that we do see is in exactly the same direction, and of a similar magnitude.”

Pollard said different countries would recommend that the shot is used in different contexts after France’s top health body recommended it only given to people under 65, but he pointed out the EU regulator had approved it for all ages.

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