Mills questions vaccine policy for 60-69 year olds
(Above) Professor Kingston Mills
Forcing people in the 60-69 age group to take the AstraZeneca vaccine may have a negative impact on public confidence, while comments by senior government politicians on the issue "smack of coercion".
That's according to Mullingar native, Kingston Mills, professor of experimental immunology at Trinity College Dublin. In an opinion piece in the Irish Times, Professor Mills questioned the current policy of limiting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to 60-69 year olds.
He said that while the clotting events associated the AstraZeneca vaccine are dominant in people under 50, they have been reported across all age groups. He also said there is “limited scientific evidence” to support the use of the vaccine in the 60-69 age group and not in others.
“While the benefits of the vaccines still outweigh the risks, the reported adverse events and their handling by our authorities may have a negative impact on confidence and therefore uptake of Covid-19 vaccines in Ireland,” he said.
“Initially, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) recommended that people over 70 should not be given the AstraZeneca vaccine, citing lack of data in older age groups, but also influenced by the higher efficacy of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. When the blood clot events resulted in suspension, and subsequent resumption of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Niac recommended not giving this vaccine to those under 60. Consequently, the 60-69 age group are shoehorned into taking the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“The comments from senior politicians that 60-69 year olds who do not register for the AstraZeneca vaccine would be consigned to the end of the queue smack of coercion, and do not instil public confidence in this vaccination strategy.”
Stating that the current plans for vaccinating 60-69 year olds “deserves wider debate”, Professor Mills says people in this age group should get booster doses of an mRNA vaccine.
"This would ensure that one age group is not locked into a vaccine that is beset by repeated failure to deliver promised supplies, is associated with rare clotting events, and has limited efficacy against variants of concern that are gaining a foothold in many European countries, including Ireland," he said.