Germany not giving Astra Zeneca vaccine to over 65 year olds

[Hughley]

After watching the news tonight and gearing that Germany are not giving the Astra Zeneca vaccine to over 65s because insufficient research had been carried out on older people. I am very concerned as I have PV and take hydroxycarbamide so therefore immunosuppressant and I had the Astra Zeneca vaccine last Thursday. What are anyone’s thoughts on this subject I am not going out at all as shielding but was hoping in the distant future that I may be able to return to slight normality but I don’t think so now,

[Paul_1971]

One of the things that was said early on was that the response in over 65s with the AZ vaccine was good.

I'm no expert of course but my default position is to trust those in charge of the UK vaccination plan rather than somewhere else.

Its becoming very political in Europe and I wouldn't rule out this being a political move to try and restore damaged reputation.

[Mostew in reply to Paul_1971]

Glad we are managing to sort out SOME of our damaged reputation !!!

[ConniesDad]

Hi. I had the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine on Sunday last. The nurse administering asked if I was having any other meds by injection recently. I informed her of my interferon injections and she went off to check with senior nurse/GP. The senior nurse came back with her and said I could have the jab but needed to be aware that as I am immuno-suppressed the vaccine might have reduced efficacy, they just weren’t sure. As there’s no way to know how effective it is for me at the moment, the jab really doesn’t offer me much hope of a return to any sort of normality any time soon. Therefore I will continue to take extreme care; masks, hygiene and distancing if and when I do venture out into the community.

Hopefully there will be further research on this going forward and possibly an antibody test will be made available for people where a question mark remains about the efficacy of the vaccine.

[light in reply to ConniesDad]

Well said. No one can say much. We are all walking in the dark and working to find the best way out for all. I had. my AZ on Tuesday and I am on Peg Interferon too. Wishing you well.

[DC1916]

Hi Hughly, I think you are wise to keep shielding for the moment until the levels of the virus in the community come down and more people have hade the vaccine. Regarding the AZ vaccine. From what I understand Germany are looking at the data showing the number of people over 65 vaccinated and non vaccinated in the trial who caught covid-19 and because the total number of people in this age group was lower (as more younger people were involved in the clinical trials) it make it more difficult assess when you look at the data as one person make more of a difference to the overall percentage (1 person in 10 Vs 1 person in 10000) there was an interview on Radio 4 this morning and I expect more on the news today.

We need to keep in mind that the AZ vaccine has been given to lots of people and has been shown to be safe. The vaccine causes antibody production in the people vaccinated and people with the antibodies were less likely to get seriously ill with covid-19. The only way we will know about how the vaccine works in people with specific conditions is to monitor the responds in the specific groups.

Keep safe everyone.

[ourlife]

Hi Hughley,

I think Germany’s response is politically motivated, they are expanding a BioNTech/Pfizer factory and will be manufacturing that vaccine so will naturally be biased. (in my opinion, I don’t want this to be a political debate and accept others may have different views)

I fully trust our system in the UK and the information regarding the age groups etc.

Good luck and have fun

Ourlife

[AndyT]

There may be some politics in this but there’s also confusion about what the trial results actually showed - it seems the 8% being quoted was the percentage of over 65s included in the trial, not the level of protection they achieved, which was comparable to other age groups: theguardian.com/world/2021/...

[Superwoman]

Well I got to vacation centre early this morning for jab, they asked me lots of questions, then they called a doctor over who had a long talk me with regarding what I take. And he knew about MPNs YEH👍😃 but was concerned not so much with my ET and Hydroxycarbamide but as I have numerous reactions to certain drugs, like penicillin, tramadol, warfarin, and lots of antibiotics, he felt that the Pfizer one was not for me so I have been booked in tomorrow for the AstraZeneca good service, they check everything.

My only worry now is what the papers and Germans, are saying about the AstraZeneca jab, but the articles I have read show encouraging results for both vaccines, that produce a similarly strong immune response in both older and younger people, so I am going to believe in that, think it’s all tit for tat with our European brothers and sisters, we should all be pulling together, not arguing over what’s right or wrong, so many people all over the world have lost their lives to Covid-19

All I can say is I can’t wait for the sun to come out and we are free of this awful Pandemic called Covid. 🌞 and we can get on with our lives, even if it is some kind of near normal, I will take that.

Sending good vibes to you all.

Jean x

[Dovme]

It appears in the German press that the European Medicines Agency has now approved the AstraZeneca vaccine without age restrictions other then 18+. So good news! See link some comments on additional data but seemed content it would provide a good response in older groups

dw.com/en/eu-medicine-agenc...