Portugal says AstraZeneca vaccine preferably only for under-65s

Portugal's health ministry said on Monday the AstraZeneca vaccine should preferably be used on under-65s, the latest European country to express reservations about its efficacy on older people.

Still, the ministry said, the vaccination of a person of 65 years or more should not be delayed if the AstraZeneca vaccine is the only one available.

Portugal has recorded 765,414 coronavirus cases and 14,158 deaths. 

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The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived on Sunday, numbering 42,300 doses. The country has so far received just under 390,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 19,200 Moderna doses, the health ministry says.

Germany, France, Austria and Norway have said they will only administer the shot to under-65s, with Poland limiting it to under-60s and Spain and Italy to under-55s.

Reuters