AstraZeneca vaccine: Why 20-year-old Sydneysider got the jab

Lucy Mychael, 20, wants to experience uni life and even travel abroad but Australia’s slow vaccine rollout is preventing that. So she got the AstraZeneca shot after speaking to her GP.

We all want to get our lives back to some kind of “normal” and the only way that’s going to happen is if we all get vaccinated NOW.

I’m a 20-year-old living in Sydney and I’ve already missed out on way too much. I want to actually experience uni life, I’ve worked two jobs so I have money to travel. I want to start my adult life — we all do!

Lucy Mychael. 20, got medical advice and then got the AstraZeneca jab.

So with all AstraZeneca’s bad press, I was in a dilemma about whether I take the risk to get vaccinated or continue the eternal wait for Pfizer, which could still be months away for my age group.

I went to my doctor to get some advice. He spent beyond the usual time allocated to give me all the facts in the hope that I would spread the word to my friends. Below is what he advised and what I experienced:

The risk of being affected in any way by blood clots due to AZ is about 1.9 per 100,000 (18-29 age group). The risk of death is far, far less.

The risk of getting a blood clot is far higher from smoking, taking the contraceptive pill, or getting Covid-19 itself.

Due to the current outbreak, GPs and the AMA are recommending that young people in Sydney should consider getting AZ.

GPs and the AMA are the most trustworthy groups for medical information as they are not driven by any monetary or political agenda.

So I did it! I received my first dose of AZ at 3pm on July 27.

I did have some side effects. About 8 hours after receiving my first dose of AZ, I started getting very cold and was shivering for a couple of hours. This was followed by some sweats and a headache.

Most side effects were gone by midday the following day and I had a sore arm for a couple of days after that.

I decided to get AZ mostly because I want Sydney and Australia to open up again and the only way that’s happening is with high vaccination rates. AZ not only protects me but also limits my ability to catch or spread the disease, therefore protecting anyone I come into contact with.

I also think it’s worth considering f that if you have ever taken any illegal drug, you have effectively put your health in the hands of some random guy making drugs in his garage, compared to AZ which is from some of the most trusted and respected medical professionals in the world.

Overall in my opinion the facts are very clear. You are far better equipped in dealing with the potentially life-threatening effects of Covid when vaccinated.

As vaccines take a couple of weeks to become responsive and Covid is spreading through Sydney, I felt safer getting vaccinated with AZ now, than waiting months for Pfizer.

Bottom line, speak to your doctor and, if you’re good, don’t hesitate. Let’s get our lives back.

YOUNG LINING UP TO GET FREEDOM

Young people are rushing to get the AstraZeneca jab with data showing 116,851 people under 40 have had their first dose and 25,139 are fully vaccinated with the vaccine that was previously recommended for those over 60.

Nationally 254,173 have had their first dose and 105,332 have had their second.

Sydney-based NSW Royal Australian College of General Practitioners chair Dr Charlotte Hespe said her Glebe practice had been “inundated” with people under 40.

“We have been inundated and we had put up on our website, if they were under 40 they need to have a chat to the doctor first, but we found most are well informed and wanting to go ahead,” she said.

NSW Royal Australian College of General Practitioners chair Dr Charlotte Hespe. Picture: John Appleyard

Given the outbreak in NSW, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommends “adults under the age of 60 who do not have immediate access to Pfizer should consider the benefits and risks of earlier protection through AstraZeneca vaccine”.

ATAGI reports 1.6-1.9 cases of clots per 100,000 in the under 40s, a risk rate of .001.

“I’m impressed with how informed the young people are and they have decided they don’t want to wait, they would rather have the protection AstraZeneca gives them ... most say they do things much riskier than this every day,” she said.

At Dr Brian Morton’s Northbridge clinic, a clinic that services an older population, there has been a significant ­uptake of AstraZeneca among the under 40s despite the reported risks of rare blood clots.

“Since this last outbreak maybe 20 per cent are now younger. Some feel they have occupational exposure and others think it’s the proper thing to do and think the ­adverse reactions, the TTS clot risk was overblown,” Dr Morton said.

NSW Australian Medial Association president Dr Danielle McMullan said: “In some areas we are seeing really strong interest and uptake in the under 40s but we still need to do more, particularly in our most affected local government areas in west and south- west Sydney”.

Southwest Sydney was revealed to have the lowest Covid vaccination rates in Greater Sydney on Tuesday with only 14.6 per cent fully vaccinated.

- by JANE HANSEN