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The EU seems to keep bringing focus back onto the over-65 efficacy. The German government has said it shouldn’t be used on over-65s, Poland has now followed, an

The EU seems to keep bringing focus back onto the over-65 efficacy. The German government has said it shouldn’t be used on over-65s, Poland has now followed, and Macron has been out in the press regurgitating incorrect statistics he misread somewhere (saying it’s only 10% effective, rather than the correct stat being that the age group made up around 10% of test subjects). Personally I think the UK approach is the way to go and that the EU being cautious might backfire. We know the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is pretty safe and the UK has been giving it to over-65s quite happily. If it does turn out that it’s less effective, then we’ll still have gotten some efficacy across the vast majority of our population much quicker, and probably not added to the deaths. If it turns out that it’s just as effective as on everyone else, then the EU will have lost time yet again and have left their older population at risk for longer.

alkonaut 6y ago
Countries that have a supply of Pfizer/Moderna as well as AZ can understandably be more cautious with AZ to over-65 at least early on. It’s just a matter of assigning the right vaccine to the respective groups, e.g Pfizer to the elderly and AZ to healthcare workers. In a month or two there will be more data, but in Q2 there will also be more supply of Pfizer and Moderna in the EU. The EU can be cautious with AZ to elderly now because it can afford to due to large quantities of rna vaccine. A few thousand elderly will die waiting for the slow buildup of rna delivieries while AZ could be made available. That’s the obvious drawback of this caution.
- krzyk 6y ago
  > Pfizer to the elderly and AZ to healthcare workers. With Pfizers (and Moderna) ~95% efficacy and AZ at 60% I would give AZ to only those that want to jump the line or as the last resort. You don't want doctors to spread COVID (40% vs 5% that can spread is huge). Poland wants to give AZ to teachers, a group that has contact with many children (which have contact with their families) - this is poor thinking. AZ should go to people that don't have much contact with others, e.g. unemployed or volunteers.
- orra 6y ago
  > Countries that have a supply of Pfizer/Moderna I'm very excited that RNA vaccines are now a reality. But the logistics for these RNA vaccines is much more difficult. Specialist freezers are required. Meaning it takes longer to vaccinate folk.
  - xiphias2 6y ago
    So far the lack of vaccines is the main problem in all countries except US. It seems completely managable so far.

alkonaut 6y ago

Countries that have a supply of Pfizer/Moderna as well as AZ can understandably be more cautious with AZ to over-65 at least early on. It’s just a matter of assigning the right vaccine to the respective groups, e.g Pfizer to the elderly and AZ to healthcare workers. In a month or two there will be more data, but in Q2 there will also be more supply of Pfizer and Moderna in the EU. The EU can be cautious with AZ to elderly now because it can afford to due to large quantities of rna vaccine. A few thousand elderly will die waiting for the slow buildup of rna delivieries while AZ could be made available. That’s the obvious drawback of this caution.

krzyk 6y ago
> Pfizer to the elderly and AZ to healthcare workers. With Pfizers (and Moderna) ~95% efficacy and AZ at 60% I would give AZ to only those that want to jump the line or as the last resort. You don't want doctors to spread COVID (40% vs 5% that can spread is huge). Poland wants to give AZ to teachers, a group that has contact with many children (which have contact with their families) - this is poor thinking. AZ should go to people that don't have much contact with others, e.g. unemployed or volunteers.
orra 6y ago
> Countries that have a supply of Pfizer/Moderna I'm very excited that RNA vaccines are now a reality. But the logistics for these RNA vaccines is much more difficult. Specialist freezers are required. Meaning it takes longer to vaccinate folk.
- xiphias2 6y ago
  So far the lack of vaccines is the main problem in all countries except US. It seems completely managable so far.