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South Korea Grants Emergency Use of Controversial AstraZeneca Vaccine

VOA News

   South Korea has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca
   and Oxford University for all adults, despite concerns over the lack of
   data on its effectiveness among the elderly.

   The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety granted emergency use for the
   two-dose vaccine Wednesday, but only on the condition that the
   British-Swedish drugmaker provide the results of its current late-stage
   clinical trials on adults 18 years of age and older. The ministry has
   also issued a precautionary warning about inoculating South Koreans
   older than 65 years of age.

   Inoculations of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the first to be approved for
   use in South Korea, will begin on February 26.

   Limits on use ofAstraZeneca vaccine

   Several European countries, including Germany and France, have limited
   use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people between 18 and 64 years old
   because of insufficient data on elderly recipients.

   Further doubts about the AstraZeneca vaccine arose Sunday when South
   Africa suspended its vaccination campaign after a new study revealed
   that the vaccine was less effective against a variant of the virus
   found in the country.

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