UK to offer under-40s alternative vaccines to AstraZeneca

London, May 7 (EFE).- People under the age of 40 in the United Kingdom are to be offered an alternative Covid-19 vaccine to AstraZeneca due to its possible links with rare blood clots, particularly in younger patients.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said the recommendation should apply to people aged between 18-39 with no underlying health conditions and only if other vaccines are available.

“The AstraZeneca vaccine is very helpful in that it requires less stringent transport and storage conditions compared to some other vaccines, that means in certain settings the AstraZeneca may be the only vaccine that is practical to offer,” Professor and JCVI chair Wei Shen Lim told a press conference.

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines will be offered as the alternative jab, he added.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it had detected 242 cases of blood clots and low platelets after administering 28.5 million doses of AstraZeneca, although the rare side effect seemed to affect younger people more.

Scientists estimate the risk of a blood clot to be one in 100,000 in people over 40 compared to one in one in 60,000 for people in their 30s.

Some 34.9 million people in the UK have got their first dose of a vaccine and 16.2 million have completed a full course. EFE

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