WHO backs AstraZeneca vax for South African variant
A panel of experts have found that there is no evidence the vaccine would not protect against the disease
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective and should be deployed widely, a WHO panel says.
The organisation recommends using the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine against COVID-19 despite recent reports that raised questions about its effectiveness.
The UN health agency issued its guidance on Wednesday, days after the publication of a study showing that the vaccine offers less protection against the 501Y.V2 variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in South Africa.
The WHO noted that the results of the study only showed limited effectiveness against mild forms of COVID-19 but that there was no evidence that the vaccine does not protect against severe disease.
