Canada vaccine committee advises against use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots for 65 years and above

FILE PHOTO: A test tube labelled "vaccine" in front of an AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken, September 9, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization released new guidelines on Monday that advise against vaccinating people who are 65 years and older with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, citing lack of information about efficacy in that age group.

The vaccine was authorized for people who are 18 and older by drug regulator Health Canada on Friday. The committee's recommendations are not binding, but may influence provincial vaccination plans.

Health Canada's decision noted that available clinical trial data was too limited to reliably estimate how well the vaccine worked in people 65 and older.

FILE PHOTO: Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Deputy Premier of Ontario and Minister of Health Christine Elliott watch as a healthcare worker administers the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine to personal support worker Anita Quidangen, who is the first person in Ontario to receive both doses, at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Canada January 4, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

But it also said "emerging real world evidence" in places that had already started using the vaccine suggested a potential benefit and no safety concerns.

A preliminary study of Scotland's vaccination drive published last week suggested AstraZeneca's shot had been highly effective in preventing severe infections there.

In Germany, advice to use the vaccine only for people under 65 has led to low uptake of available doses.

(Reporting by Allison Martell; Editing by Franklin Paul and Jonathan Oatis)