Economy 23 May 2022, 9:58am

EU green-lights AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for third doses

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AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, has been granted approval in the European Union (EU) by the European Medicine Agency (EMA) as a third dose booster in adults, the company has announced on Monday.

Healthcare professionals can now use Vaxzevria as a third dose booster in patients previously given a primary vaccine schedule of either Vaxzevria or an EU-approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

The authorisation is based on a review by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the substantial body of evidence demonstrating an increased immune response after a third dose booster with Vaxzevria following a primary vaccine schedule of either Vaxzevria or an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.1-5

"Although more than 65% of the global population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, there remains a significant challenge to ensure people receive both their primary vaccine schedule and third dose booster, and healthcare professionals now have greater flexibility in their choice of vaccine," AstraZeneca said.

"Ensuring a longer duration of immune protection is essential to the long-term management of COVID-19 globally, and boosters can address the waning of protection over time that has been seen with all primary vaccine schedules to date," commented Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca's BioPharmaceuticals R&D.

Vaxzevria is already authorised as a homologous booster (patients previously given a primary vaccine schedule of Vaxevria) in the UK, and several countries in Asia and Latin America. It has also been authorised as a heterologous booster (patients previously given a primary vaccine schedule of either a viral vector vaccine other than Vaxzevria or an inactivated vaccine or an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine) in a number of non-EU countries.