untitled design

AstraZeneca vaccine: British government reassures after recommendation for under 30s

The British government was reassured today about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines available in Britain. Preceded the announcement yesterday that it is preferable for adults under 30 years old without underlying diseases to be offered, for precautionary reasons, an alternative to the AstraZeneca / Oxford University vaccine, where available.

Health Minister Matt Hancock, who toured the TV panels this morning, emphasized that all vaccines used in the UK “do not pose a risk to all ages”, but Due to the “extremely rare” risk of developing a blood clot, the Moderna or Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine will be offered to those under 30 years of age.

The number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths (less than 50 per day) associated with the new coronavirus were drastically reduced in Britain in the weeks of lockdown and due to the progress of the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in the country, which is one of the most advanced in the world.

Three in five adults have received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and the United Kingdom, the country that has mourned most of the pandemic deaths in Europe with nearly 127,000 deaths, plans to vaccinate all its adults with the first dose. country by the end of July.

The first hurdle in the vaccination campaign

However, the vaccination campaign, which has so far been carried out without hindrance, faced a first after the JCVI, the scientific committee overseeing the vaccination campaign, on Wednesday recommended that it be preferable for adults under 30 without underlying disease to they are offered an alternative to AstraZeneca vaccine, where available, following the identification of rare but severe cases of blood clots in people who have been vaccinated.

Addressing the younger ones, the Minister of Health assured them: “Vaccines are not dangerous and, if you want to get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in its place (AstraZeneca vaccine), no problem.”

“COVID-19 is a terrible disease and it seems that ‘long COVID’ affects people in their twenties as much as any other age group and can have debilitating side effects that can ruin your life,” Hancock warned. in statements he made to the BBC.

The British Drug Enforcement Administration (MHRA) announced Wednesday that it had found the deaths of 19 people who received the AstraZeneca / Oxford University vaccine in a total of 70 cases of blood clots detected after administering more than 20 million doses of the drug. since the beginning of December, as broadcast by Reuters and Agence France-Presse and re-broadcast by the Athenian News Agency. Its director assured that the benefits of the vaccine still outweigh the risks to the “vast majority” of the population.

Professor Anthony Harden, vice-president of the JCVI, told the BBC that the risk of thrombosis after vaccination was “much lower than thrombosis due to common drugs, such as contraceptives, much lower than thrombosis during of pregnancy and even more rare of thrombosis due to COVID-19 itself “.

You may also like

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular