English health chiefs defend AstraZeneca jab as Germany set to limit it to under-65s

The European Medicines Agency is expected to approve the vaccine for use in the EU on Friday, although it is not yet clear whether it will set an age limit.

(Owen Humphreys/PA)

Public Health England (PHE) has defended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after German advisers said there was insufficient data to recommend it for those aged 65 and over.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at PHE, said there had been “too few cases” of coronavirus in older people in Phase 3 clinical trial to determine efficacy in this age group, but other data on immune response had been “reassuring”.