Why some people are just mad for the jab

I MET a man on Friday and he was spitting nails. He said: ‘Now they’re warning about six billion people to stay away from that AstraZeneca vaccine but telling me that if I refuse it, I’ll be left without any vaccine at all.’

The target of his fury was the decision by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, on expert advice, to restrict the AstraZeneca jab to people over the age of 60 because of blood clotting concerns in younger people, especially women.

He wanted Leo Varadkar’s number so he’d be able to give the doctor a call if he noticed his head was just about to burst after receiving his no-choice AstraZeneca in the next couple of weeks, he having registered on the famous HSE portal.

It’s hardly surprising that some doctors around the country are noticing an uptick in vaccine reluctance, especially in the 60 to 70 age group now forced to accept AstraZeneca.

Which suggests the need for a focused publicity campaign explaining the low rate of blood clotting associated with AstraZeneca (one in 250,000 according to UK figures) and the hugely increased risk of blood clots amongst those infected by Covid-19.

According to the British medical journal Thorax, blood clotting affects about 8% to 11% of Covid patients.

In light of his remarks I asked my man would he be refusing the AstraZeneca shot. ‘Not at all. The way I feel now about getting back to normal, I’d lick it off the floor of a public jacks. Mad for the jab – and the Algarve. Can’t wait.’