LONDON: AstraZeneca and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday defended the effectiveness of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine after regulators in Germany said it should not be given to over-65s.
A spokesperson for the UK-based company said the latest clinical trial data for its vaccine, developed with Oxford University, “support efficacy in the over 65 years age group.”
The company is awaiting a decision from the EU’s medicines regulator, the spokesperson added.
Johnson meanwhile told reporters that the UK’s own regulator had established “that they think the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is very good and efficacious, gives a high degree of protection.”
A panel of scientific experts in Germany said the vaccine should only be used for “persons aged 18 to 65 years old based on available data,” citing “insufficient data” to assess its efficacy for older people.
Britain has been using the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab along with another developed by Pfizer/BioNTech across all older age groups as it bids to immunize the most vulnerable 15 million people by mid-February.
Mary Ramsay, head of immunizations at the government agency Public Health England, also backed the AstraZeneca vaccine for older recipients.
“Both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines are safe and provide high levels of protection against Covid-19, particularly against severe disease,” she said.
“There were too few cases in older people in the AstraZeneca trials to observe precise levels of protection in this group, but data on immune responses were very reassuring,” Ramsay added.
“The risk of severe disease and death increase exponentially with age — the priority is to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible with either vaccine, to protect more people and save more lives.”
AstraZeneca, UK PM defend COVID jab’s effectiveness
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AstraZeneca, UK PM defend COVID jab’s effectiveness
- The AstraZeneca vaccine's efficacy among over-65s was called into question by German regulators
- Britain has been using the shot as a core part of its nationwide vaccination program
Canada PM Carney says can’t rule out military participation in Iran war
- Carney had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were “inconsistent with international law”
- However, he supports the efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon
CANBERRA, Australia: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that he couldn’t rule out his country’s military participation in the escalating war in the Middle East.
Carney’s visit to Australia this week has been overshadowed by expanding war in the Middle East, sparked by a massive US-Israeli strike on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Speaking alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra, Carney was asked whether there was a situation in which Canada would get involved.
“One can never categorically rule out participation,” he said, while stressing the question was a “hypothetical” one.
“We will stand by our allies,” said Carney, adding that “we will always defend Canadians.”
Carney had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were “inconsistent with international law.”
However, he supports the efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — a position that Canada takes “with regret” as it represented “another example of the failure of the international order.”
The Canadian leader reiterated on Thursday his call for a “de-escalation” of the conflict.
Carney’s trip is part of a multi-country tour of the Asia-Pacific aimed at reducing reliance on the United States — a hedge against what he has described as a fading US-led global order.
The Australia leg of the tour is aimed at bringing in investment and deepening ties with a like-minded “middle power” partner.
‘Middle power’ rallying cry
On Thursday morning he issued a rallying cry in Australia’s parliament to “middle powers,” urging them to work together in an increasingly hegemonic world order.
Nations like Australia and Canada faced a stark choice — work together to help write the “new rules” of the global order or have great powers do it for them, he said.
“In this brave new world, middle powers cannot simply build higher walls and retreat behind them. We must work together,” he said.
“Great powers can compel, but compulsion comes with costs, both reputational and financial,” the former central banker added.
“Middle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power because others know we mean what we say and we will match our values with our actions.”
The Canadian leader also said the two countries would together as “strategic collaborators” to pool their vast combined rare earth mineral resources.
And he detailed renewed cooperation in areas from defense to artificial intelligence.
“We know we must work with others who share our values to build solid capabilities,” he told parliament.
Otherwise, he warned, they risked being “caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons.”
The Canadian leader has frequently clashed with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and slapped swingeing tariffs on the country.
In a speech to political and financial elites at the World Economic Forum in January, Carney warned the US?led global system of governance was enduring “a rupture.”
