Australians Under 50 Recommended To Get Vaccinated With Pfizer, Not AstraZeneca - Official

Sumaira FH Published April 08, 2021 | 07:01 PM

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI) has advised those under 50 to choose the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BionTech rather than the one manufactured by AstraZeneca, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2021) The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI) has advised those under 50 to choose the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BionTech rather than the one manufactured by AstraZeneca, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said on Thursday.

According to the official, the recommendation is based on the risk of blood clotting after vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine, rare but still present, reiterating the conclusions made by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) earlier this week.

"The ATAGI recommendations are the following: At the current time, the use of the Pfizer vaccine is preferred over the AstraZeneca vaccine in adults aged less than 50 years who have not already received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine," Kelly was quoted as saying by the 7 news media outlet.

Kelly added that immunization personnel should administer a first AstraZeneca shot to those under the age of 50 only if the "benefit clearly outweighs the risk for that individual's circumstances.

" However, citizens who have received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and showed no side effects are eligible for the second dose without safety concerns, he added.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has recently come under international criticism amid reported cases of blood clots, leading to its suspension in vaccination campaigns in several European countries in March. However, some of those countries later resumed its use after a statement by the EMA experts, who said they did not find a link between the adverse events and the vaccine.

Earlier this week, however, the EMA confirmed that blood clots could be a side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but the "reported combination of blood clots and low blood platelets is very rare," and stressed that the overall efficacy of the drug against the coronavirus overshadowed the risk of adverse events.