CHANGES PLANNED
CANBERRA: Australians under the age of 50 will be recommended against receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, after a link was confirmed between the jab and rare blood clots.
European authorities have identified the link, prompting the United Kingdom to offer people aged under 30 an alternative vaccine due to the risk.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison received a series of recommendations from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation last night, after the country’s drug regulators held urgent meetings to consider the findings.
Chief among them is that the Pfizer vaccine should now be adopted as the preferred vaccine for people aged under 50.
The recommendations were made under an ‘‘abundance of caution’’ of the rare but serious side effects mostly associated with younger people, Morrison said.
‘‘We’ve been taking the necessary precautions based on the best possible medical advice.
‘‘It has not been our practice to jump at shadows.’’
The group also recommended that those under 50 who have received their first AstraZeneca jab proceed with their second, as the medical advice indicated the rare clots only developed after first doses.
Only where benefit clearly outweighed risk should an initial AstraZeneca dose be administered to someone under 50, it said.
Healthcare workers under 50 who were due to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine will now be prioritised for the Pfizer vaccine.
The findings will also be discussed among state and federal health ministers and at the next meeting of the Cabinet today.
Morrison had said earlier yesterday there were no changes planned to the vaccine rollout.
More than 996,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses have now been administered in Australia, but the Federal Government there has been under pressure over a rollout that has been lagging.
Authorities had pledged to administer at least 4 million first doses by the end of last month.
Last night, Morrison said the Government no longer had a timetable for when all Australians might be vaccinated.
The Government earlier this week blamed issues with the supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Europe for the delay.
Morrison said last night that he was confident in the continuity of supply of the Pfizer vaccine.
He also said CSL would continue to domestically manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine.