In the regulation on AstraZeneca's vaccine updated to allow its use without reservation from 18 years of age, the DGS underlines that such a decision is due to proven safety, quality and efficacy.

"This decision is supported by the disclosure of data known in recent days, which indicate that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in people over 65 years," writes the DGS.

In the information, the DGS says that the new known studies have shown, "based on robust scientific methodologies, that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in individuals aged 70 years or older, both in preventing Covid-19 and in reducing hospitalisations for this disease, reinforcing the initial data that this vaccine is able to produce effective antibodies to fight infection by SARS-CoV-2, even in older people.

This decision was made after analysis of this new data by the DGS' Technical Committee for Vaccination against Covid-19 and the opinion of Infarmed.