Four in five Oxford Covid jabs delivered to EU not yet used
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Four out of five of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine doses delivered to EU countries are yet to be used, a Guardian investigation has found, as Angela Merkel admitted to an “acceptance problem” among Europeans being offered the jab.
Using data extracted from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and other official sources, it is estimated that 4,849,752 of the 6,134,707 doses distributed among the 27 member states have not yet been administered.
The decision by authorities in France, Germany, Poland and Italy to recommend use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine only for people under 65 is likely to be a significant factor in its slow administration, with authorities failing to redirect jabs to younger people.
But in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Merkel conceded that the vaccine was also being rejected by people concerned over its efficacy and safety after a slew of bad publicity.
Asked whether she would volunteer to be administered with the vaccine, Merkel said: “I am 66 years old and I do not belong to the recommended group for AstraZeneca.”
Later on Thursday, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he would gladly accept an AstraZeneca dose if it were offered when his turn for vaccination comes.
Main Photo: A vial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine . EPA-EFE/TOMS KALNINS
