French health authorities said on Friday that people under the age of 55 who received a first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine for coronavirus should receive another vaccine for their second dose, due to a risk extremely rare clot formation.
Germany is expected to recommend a similar strategy for people under 60.
However, the World Health Organization said it is too early to know whether this mixture of vaccines should be recommended and the European Medicines Agency has not recommended that there be age restrictions on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
French authorities said the British-Swedish company’s vaccine remains key to its inoculation plan and called on the older population to continue receiving it, at a time when country hospitals are battling a new increase. of patients with COVID-19.
“It’s an effective vaccine,” Dominique Le Guludec, president of the French Health Authority, told reporters. “If we want to win the battle against the virus, we have to use all the weapons at our disposal.”
Several European countries have decided in recent weeks to mimic the use of AstraZeneca vaccine in the elderly due to growing evidence that the vaccine may be linked to rare clots in younger populations.
Since March 19, France has offered the AstraZeneca vaccine only to people over 55 years of age.
More than half of France’s population below that age – even Health Minister Olivier Verán – received the first dose of the vaccine before that.
France’s top health authority said on Friday it would maintain the age limit for the time being and recommended that younger people who received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine use a second dose of Pfizer or of Modern.
“It’s a precautionary measure,” Veran told RTL radio.