Australia became the last country on Thursday to restrict the use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine and recommend not giving it to people under 50.
The announcement came after drug regulators held a series of urgent meetings that day. This follows the warning from the European Medicines Agency that there appears to be a link between the vaccine and clots.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had received a series of recommendations from an advisory group on Thursday evening, the most important of which was that Pfizer’s vaccine should now be adopted as the vaccine of choice for people under 50.
Morrison says the recommendations were made out of an abundance of caution because of the rare but serious side effect that has mostly occurred in younger people.
“We have taken the necessary precautions based on the best possible medical advice,” he said.
The Australian Immunization Technical Advisory Group has further recommended that people under the age of 50 who have already received their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine should proceed with the second, as medical recommendations indicate that rare blood clots do not occur until after the first dose.
The group said that only when the benefit clearly outweighs the risk should the starting dose of AstraZeneca be given to a person under the age of 50.
Health workers under 50 who would receive the AstraZeneca vaccine now have priority over Pfizer’s, which will almost certainly slow the process.