Some in France, Germany, the UK avoid the AstraZeneca jab for Pfizer: Reports

• During the launch of vaccines in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, some insist on a specific injection.
• In Europe, authorities are struggling to give AstraZeneca’s jab and mention performance concerns.
• In the United Kingdom, reports are mixed. The Washington Post suggested that some prefer the AstraZeneca vaccine, calling it “English”.
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People receiving vaccines in the UK, France and Germany are complicating the launches, trying to insist on receiving a specific injection, according to several reports.

In continental Europe, authorities pointed to unfilled appointments and empty vaccination centers when the dose of AstraZeneca is on offer.

The resistance appears to stem from test data that suggested the vaccine is less effective than vaccines made by Pfizer, the other vaccine widely used in Europe.

In the UK, reports are more mixed, with anecdotal reports of some people insisting on the Pfizer jab, while others press for AstraZeneca, citing their local credentials.

Here’s what’s going on:

In the United Kingdom, the picture is more complicated. According to The Washington Post, some Britons are canceling and rescheduling vaccination appointments to ensure the injection of Pfizer.

The vehicle said the strategy was based on rumors and inside information about which centers have which doses.

He also pointed to the opposite phenomenon – people insisting on getting the AstraZeneca injection because AstraZeneca is jointly based in the UK and developed its vaccine together with the University of Oxford.

A doctor told the BBC on Sunday that while his medical colleagues have a slight preference for the Pfizer vaccine, his patients tend to have a preference for the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine “made in Britain”.

Differences in effectiveness data

The dynamics seem largely shaped by data from the Phase 3 trials of both vaccines.

As reported by Isabella Jibilian of Insider in December, doubts arose about AstraZeneca’s tests, when the company announced that the vaccine was 62% effective after two full doses, but 90% effective after half a dose and a full dose of the vaccine.

British regulators now estimate the vaccine’s effectiveness at 70%, reported The Washington Post, and the European Medicines Agency at 60%.

In comparison to the reported 95% efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine in its tests, it would be easy to believe that the AstraZeneca vaccine does not perform as well.

However, Andrew Pollard, the leading scientist in the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine, told the Post that the numbers are not directly comparable.

“Unless you run the [Pfizer and AstraZeneca] face-to-face trials, you don’t really know if a 95 percent figure in the trial and 62 percent in another trial means the same thing, “Pollard told The Washington Post.

The results of this face-to-face test should be available soon, he said.

Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines “provide very high protection against serious illnesses” and appear to “have good safety profiles,” said the UK’s Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee, where Pollard is a leading scientist.

Pollard told the Post that he personally “would receive any vaccine offered”.

Real-world data in countries where vaccines were launched, such as Israel and the United Kingdom, are beginning to provide more clarity about vaccine effectiveness.