‘Give Johnson jab to over 30s’
Fears rollout will stall unless age restrictions are widened to include much younger adults
LEADING immunologists have called for the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca jabs to be made available to people over the age of 30 to ensure the smooth rollout of the national vaccine programme.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) is reviewing updated information on the vaccines, which are currently recommended for those over 50.
A leading vaccine official told the Irish Mail on Sunday that NIAC’s eagerly anticipated advice on the matter is likely to be delivered to the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, tomorrow. Dr Holohan will then advise Health Minister Stephen Donnelly on the matter.
The official said: ‘I would be very surprised if we don’t hear by Monday with formal approval at Cabinet on Tuesday.’
Health Service Executive chief Paul Reid has called for ‘flexibility’ in providing the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to the under-50s. Otherwise, the HSE and the Government fear the vaccine programme will not be able to
‘Risk of rare clotting events is infinitesimally small’
reach its key target of delivering at least a first jab to 82% of the adult population by the end of June.
However, Dr Holohan stressed on Friday that it was not ‘a matter of flexibility’, but rather ‘a question of NIAC giving its best expert assessment’.
He said: ‘That’s the advice I expect to receive, and I’ll be in a position to see, and consider it. We’ll then give advice to the Minister.’
Minister Donnelly stressed this weekend there was no urgency in arriving at a decision on the vaccines, adding: ‘We do not need a decision imminently. We have plenty of vaccines and plenty of people in the cohorts that are open to keep going at full tilt for now.’
Experts who spoke to the MoS this weekend said people over the age of 30 should be allowed to make an ‘informed decision’ about taking AstraZeneca or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
UCC Professor of Immunovirology Dr Liam Fanning said ‘vaccines are very safe’, adding that we need a programme in place to ensure no vaccines go to waste, as inter
national evidence has shown how effective they are.
Dr Fanning added: ‘The benefits to taking the vaccine outweigh the risk of an adverse event. There are greater complications associated with getting Covid-19.
‘Certainly, the AstraZeneca and
the Johnson & Johnson would be good to go for the over-30s. The risks of Covid-19 decrease for those under the age of 30 but the risk of the rare clotting events increases.
Professor of Comparative Immunology at Trinity College Dr Cliona O’Farrelly agrees that the overwhelming
evidence shows the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are safe, adding that the priority needs to be the swift rollout of the vaccine programme.
Dr O’Farrelly said: ‘The risk of the rare clotting events is infinitesimally small. We undergo a greater
risk driving to the vaccine centre than we do getting the vaccine, and that’s the reality. I do understand people’s concerns and it is confusing to hear one country is doing one thing, another country is doing something else.