The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has rejected a perception that Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine was not safe for people over 60 years of age.

“Some people have misinterpreted the guidelines of the vaccine. The fact is that it is a research-based recommendation that people over 60 years of age should not be vaccinated. The clinical trial of vaccine was held on people from 18 to 60 years of age; so as per protocols, people of the same age group should be vaccinated. It does not mean that the vaccine is not safe for people of over 60 years of age. They can be vaccinated once the company releases data regarding clinical trial on them,” NHS ministry’s spokesperson Sajid Shah said while talking to Dawn.

“However, it needs to be understood that the vaccine is only being administered to frontline healthcare workers — who generally retire at the age of 60 from public sector hospitals and the same protocol is being used for private hospitals. People over 65 years of age will be vaccinated in the second phase for which even registration of such people has not yet started,” Shah said.

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