GERMANY OKS ASTRAZENECA JAB FOR ELDERLY AS BERLIN BOOSTS VACCINATION DRIVE

Germany is to begin vaccinating older people with the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, after initially refusing to approve the drug for those aged 65 and up, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday, Sascha Meyer and Rachel More reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

"This is good news for all the elderly people waiting for a vaccination. It means they can get vaccinated sooner," Spahn said. Germany's Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko) subsequently issued a statement saying it would recommend the AstraZeneca vaccine "for all age groups."

In late January, the independent panel of experts withheld a recommendation for use of the vaccine in the older age group, in a move that critics say blunted enthusiasm for the jab in Germany.

By Thursday, almost 3.2 million doses of the drug, developed by the Swedish-British firm together with the University of Oxford, will have been delivered to Germany's 16 states, according to the German Health Ministry.

Data collated by the Robert Koch Institute for disease control showed that only around 631,000 doses have been administered so far, leading to concerns about low uptake and organizational issues as vials pile up in storehouses.

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