WILL OXFORD JAB BE RESTRICTED IN UNDER-30S?
Bombshell as health chiefs ‘consider’ curbs over fatal blood clot fears
CONCERNS over rare blood clots could see Britain’s medical regulator restrict the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, it was claimed last night.
One scenario could see the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) limit the vaccine to the over-30s, with younger people given other Covid jabs instead.
Some countries have already restricted use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, amid concern over an extremely rare blood clotting disorder in young patients. The MHRA has been investigating the phenomenon for weeks but experts, including those on the continent, have maintained that any link to the vaccine is not yet proven and could be a coincidence.
However, Channel 4 News claimed yesterday that the Oxford jab’s rollout could be paused for young adults, in what would represent the first such restriction of the UK’s vaccination programme.
A formal ruling is expected within days, but Dr June Raine, head of the MHRA, stressed last night that no decision had yet been made. A government spokesman said the Oxford vaccine is ‘safe and effective’, adding that ‘when people are called forward, they should get the jab’.
The MHRA has identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events, including seven deaths, following the delivery of 18.1million doses of the Oxford jab up to March 24. When combined with findings in Europe, scientists suggest the risk of death is the equivalent of around one in a million.
The main condition causing concern is cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), where potentially fatal clots form in the veins that run from the brain. Another worry is thrombocytopenia, which sees heavy bleeding in patients with abnormally low levels of platelets.
France, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands have all recommended that younger people avoid the AstraZeneca jab. Its use remains suspended entirely in Norway and Denmark.
In a sign of growing caution over the vaccine, England’s chief medical officer last week suggested we should ‘keep an open mind’. Professor Chris Whitty told a Royal Society of Medicine online seminar: ‘The risk-benefit is wildly in favour of vaccination if you’re, let’s say, an 85-year-old diabetic with liver failure.
‘The closer you get to someone who’s right down at 20... the more you have to think through these really very rare side effects. What you’re always doing in medicine is balancing risk against benefit.’
Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson revealed yesterday that the MHRA was ‘considering this matter very urgently’. The government adviser, who has himself had the Oxford jab, told Radio 4’s Today Programme: ‘No vaccine, no medicine is risk-free... in terms of the data at the moment, there is increasing evidence that there is a rare risk associated – particularly with the AstraZeneca vaccine, but it may be associated at a lower level with other vaccines – of these unusual blood clots with low platelet counts.’
He said the risk was age-related, and could be more prominent in females – though evidence is still limited.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed in the UK, has been key to the nation’s successful inoculation programme. More than 31.5million Britons have received at least one dose of the MHRA’s approved Covid vaccines.
The Moderna jab, approved by the regulator in January, is expected to reach its first NHS patients this month.
Blood clots can occur naturally, and the cases among patients who have had the Oxford jab could simply be a coincidence. In addition, Covid-19 is known to significantly increase the
‘Really very rare side effects’ ‘Looking at younger people’
risk of blood clots. The World Health Organisation has insisted that Oxford’s vaccine is safe – but there are fears that any restrictions imposed by the MHRA would harm confidence in the jab, with lower uptake already expected among younger age groups.
Former chief scientific adviser Sir Mark Walport said it was the duty of MHRA to ‘look continuously at the effects of new drugs, vaccines and everything else’.
He added: ‘The risk of dying from coronavirus when you’re young is much less than when you’re older. The regulators will be looking at younger people in light of emerging data and make a decision.’
Dr Raine said last night: ‘Our thorough and detailed review is ongoing into reports of very rare and specific types of blood clots with low platelets... no decision has yet been made on any regulatory action.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, effective and has already saved thousands of lives in this country. As the UK’s independent regulator has said, when people are called forward, they should get the jab.’ He added that the NHS remains on track to offer jabs to all over-50s by April 15, and all adults by the end of July.