• Australian health authorities now recommend alternatives to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for those under 50, after reports linked the formulation to rare blood clots.
• The Pfizer jab is now preferred for younger Australians.
• The decision radically reshapes Australia’s vaccine rollout plan, which, until this point, heavily relied on the AstraZeneca formulation.
  
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Australian medical authorities have confirmed a massive shift to the nation’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, recommending that adults under 50 receive alternatives to the AstraZeneca jab after reports linked the formulation to rare blood clotting side effects.

Speaking in Canberra Thursday night, Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said the Pfizer vaccine is now preferred for Australians under 50 who have not already received their first dose of the AstraZeneca jab.

The decision came after the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) considered a new report from the European Medicines Agency, which called for blood clots with low platelet counts to be listed as a “very rare” side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Those blood clotting behaviours were noted in four to six out of every million people immunised with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is still recommended for those over 50 due to the severe health risks of COVID-19 itself, Professor Kelly said.

But the potentially increased risk of rare blood clotting behaviours in younger Australians means the Pfizer vaccine is now preferred for those demographics.

“Immunisation providers should only give a first dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to adults under 50 years of age where benefit clearly outweighs the risk for that individual’s circumstances,” Professor Kelly said.

The decision radically reshapes Australia’s vaccine rollout plan, which, until this point, heavily relied on the AstraZeneca formulation.

In its submission to the Federal Government, ATAGI noted “overall coverage under Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine program will likely be reduced” until Australia can secure further AstraZeneca alternatives.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison conceded as much last night, saying Australia’s beleaguered vaccine rollout may be further delayed by the decision.

“We expect that this will require some changes to the arrangements we have as part of the vaccination rollout,” Morrison said.

Australia has secured some 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, with phase 1A of the nation’s vaccine rollout plan — targeting frontline healthcare workers, quarantine hotel staff, and aged care residents — accounting for 1.4 million doses.

By comparison, Australia has contracted the import of 3.8 million doses of the imported AstraZeneca vaccine, and plans to produce some 50 million doses domestically at Melbourne’s CSL facility.

Health care workers under 50 who were slated to receive the AstraZeneca jab are now in line to receive the Pfizer vaccine, likely impeding phase 1B — and each phase after, each focusing on a broader segment of the Australian population.

Australia has also signed a deal for 51 million doses of the Novavax vaccine, but, unlike the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, it is yet to receive TGA approval.

Speaking to ABC’s “News Breakfast” Friday morning, Professor Kelly said a strategy rethink is underway.

“Clearly we had our program of rolling out Pfizer to certain parts of the community and AstraZeneca to certain other parts through different providers, we’ll have to look at that now and particularly pivot in the way that we use the vaccines,” he said.

When asked about the likelihood of Australia signing new vaccine agreements, Professor Kelly said the Federal Government is “looking at all of those options right now.”

Professor Kelly said the potential for those delays to impact Australia’s long-awaited emergence from COVID-19 restrictions and border closures will be discussed at National Cabinet today.

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