Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced urgent changes to the federal government’s rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The announcement comes after a consultation with the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), which recommended people under the age of 50 to avoid the AstraZeneca vaccine and instead be given the Pfizer vaccine.
The link was discovered by European authorities, prompting the UK to offer people aged under 30 an alternative vaccine due to the risk.
The updated advice is expected to impact Australia’s vaccine rollout.
“ATAGI has met to consider the medical evidence regarding unforeseen but yet rare and serious side effects mostly associated with younger people from the AstraZeneca vaccine,” Mr Morrison said.
The changes were due to “rare, but serious blood clots” caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine, said Professor Paul Kelly, adding he was at the meeting with ATAGI.
vaccine in adults aged less than 50 years who have not already received a first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine,” Prof Kelly said.
“This is based both on the increased risk of complications from COVID-19 with increasing age, and thus increased benefit of the vaccination, and the potentially lower, but not zero risk, of this rare event with increasing age.”
Prof Kelly said the adverse reaction to the vaccine is less common in older people.
The PM urged elderly Australians to get the jab, which is why it is encouraged they take the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“It’s important for them to be vaccinated, because the vaccine protects against very serious illness, and we have seen in the more than 900 deaths that we’ve had in Australia – they have predominantly been with older Australians,” Mr Morrison said.
“So that would mean that the health advice would encourage them taking that vaccine to protect them from what is a global pandemic.”
