Macron tries to ‘reduce demand’ by slamming Oxford / AstraZeneca jab, vaccine specialist says – HEAVEN32

Amid a bitter cross-Channel dispute over the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, one of the scientists behind the drug accused French President Emmanuel Macron of trying to quash the trial.

On Friday, Macron said the vaccine was “almost ineffective in people over 65, some say those 60 and over.”

“I don’t know where it came from,” John Bell, professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Saturday. “I suspect it is a bit of demand management on Mr Macron’s part. ”Said. . “If you don’t have vaccines, the best thing you can do is reduce the demand.”

EU leaders reacted angrily this month to AstraZeneca’s news that production would be well below initially expected volumes. Macron’s new comments came hours before the European regulator approved the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine for use in all age groups.

While the European Medicines Agency said there was not yet enough evidence to judge its effectiveness in older people, it said there was no reason to believe the vaccine would fail. would not work.

Bell, who oversaw the development of the vaccine, admitted the number of older people tested “was low, to be fair,” but the data “still points to a very effective vaccine” in all age groups.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is at the heart of an ongoing supply line between the UK and the EU. The EU on Friday called on customs authorities to block exports of all vaccines from Saturday without explicit permission, an announcement that would have initially included exports to Northern Ireland.

This prompted an immediate refusal from EU capitals and London and a late night U-turn by the European Commission due to the sensitivity of Irish border deals.

Europe’s main Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, called for calm in The Times in an interview published on Saturday, saying: “I think we have to deal with this crisis responsibly, certainly not in a spirit of competition or competition. unhealthy “.

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