AstraZeneca unlikely for under-50s after second death
Key Points
- Victoria has recorded four ‘mystery’ COVID-19 cases
- A 52-year-old woman has died due to a vaccine blood clot
- Storms hit the East coast causing snow and floods
- Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith takes the stand in defamation trial
- Sign up for our evening newsletter here.
AstraZeneca unlikely for under-50s after second death
A 52-year-old NSW woman has died from blood clots after being given the AstraZeneca vaccine, a tragedy the government believes rules out any prospect of the age limit for the vaccine being lowered.
In its weekly vaccination update released on Thursday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration announced the woman was among four cases over the past week who developed Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), the rare blood clotting triggered by the immune system’s response to the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
The woman’s death is the second in Australia linked to the rollout of AstraZeneca. There have been 48 cases of TTS, of which 15 were serious.
The risk of clots underpinned a decision in April by the expert Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) to recommend AstraZeneca not be given to people aged under 50.
This decision torpedoed the government’s plans to have all Australians vaccinated by October because it had placed a heavy reliance on the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
In weighing up the risks, ATAGI based its decision on Australia experiencing outbreaks no worse than the modest outbreak experienced by Victoria over the past two weeks.
The government had been hoping ATAGI would re-evaluate that decision but a government source said there was “virtually zero chance” of that happening.
Latest In Federal
Fetching latest articles