Covid: Under-30s offered alternative to AstraZeneca jab
Under-30s #Under-30s
By Nick TriggleHealth correspondent
media captionAstraZeneca Covid vaccine risks and benefits “more finely balanced” in younger people, says MHRA CEO Dr June Raine
Under-30s in the UK are to be offered an alternative Covid vaccine to the AstraZeneca jab due to the evidence linking it to rare blood clots.
The recommendation comes after a review by the UK drugs regulator found that by the end of March 79 people had suffered rare blood clots after vaccination – 19 of whom had died.
The regulator said this was not proof the jab had caused the clots.
But it said the link was getting firmer.
The review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) found:
It comes as the EU’s medicines regulator says unusual blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca jab, but that the benefits outweighed the risks. Some European countries have restricted the vaccine’s use.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the review confirmed that the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is “safe, effective and the benefits far outweigh the risks for the vast majority of adults”.
The UK reported a further 45 deaths from Covid-19 and another 2,763 confirmed cases on Wednesday. Vaccinations remained low after the Easter weekend, with 186,793 second doses administered and 85,227 first doses.
June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said the side-effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine were “extremely rare” – and more work was going to identify if the vaccine was definitely causing the clots.
“The balance of benefits and known risks is still very favourable for the majority of people,” she said.
But she said for younger age groups it was more “finely balanced”.
She added: “The public’s safety is at the forefront of our minds.”
Dr Raine said there was a “reasonably plausible” link between the vaccine and the blood clots, although AstraZeneca has said its studies have found no causal connection.
The review prompted the UK government’s vaccine advisory group, the JCVI, to recommend that people aged 18 to 29 be offered an alternative vaccine where available.
Prof Lim Wei Shen, of the JCVI, said the move was being made “out of the utmost caution” rather than any serious concerns.
People who have had their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine should still get their second dose, the MHRA said. Only those who suffered one of these rare blood clots after the first dose should not get vaccinated, it added.
People with blood disorders that leave them at risk of clotting should discuss the benefits and risks of vaccination with their doctor before going for a jab.
Anyone who suffers symptoms such as a persistent headache, blurred vision or confusion for four days or more after vaccination or who experience unusual skin bruising, shortness of breath or chest pain are being asked to seek medical advice.
England deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam described the move as a “course correction” – and said it was normal in medicine to change preferences in this way.
He also said the impact on the government’s promise to offer all adults a jab by the end of July should be “zero or negligible” as long as the expected supplies of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines – the other two Covid vaccines in use in the UK – arrived as expected in the coming months.
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