Australia on Thursday became the latest country to restrict the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, recommending that it not be given to people under 50.
The announcement came after drug regulators held a series of urgent meetings that day. This follows a 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 received a number of recommendations from an advisory group on Thursday night, the main one being that the Pfizer vaccine should now be adopted as the preferred vaccine for people under 50.
Morrison says the recommendations were made out of an abundance of caution because of the rare but severe side effect that was mostly associated with younger people.
“We have taken the necessary precautions based on the best possible medical advice,” he said.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization further recommended that people under the age of 50 who have already received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine continue with the second, as medical recommendations indicate that rare clots appear only after the first dose.
The group said that only when the benefit clearly outweighs the risk, the initial dose of AstraZeneca should be given to a person under 50 years of age.
Health workers under the age of 50 who were to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine will now have priority over Pfizer, which will almost certainly delay the process.