Covid-19: Get an alternative jab for AstraZeneca under the age of 40

Children under the age of 40 will be provided with an alternative vaccine to the Oxford / AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

The Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization (JCVI) said there is a “very small risk” for people who suffer from blood clots after drinking jabs, but as infection rates decline nationwide, Covid- The risk of illness due to 19 is also reduced for young people.

The balance between the benefits and risks of the AstraZeneca vaccine is very favorable for the elderly, but more finely balanced for the younger group, who are less susceptible to serious coronavirus disease.

Experts also assessed the risk of Covid’s third wave in the UK and concluded that the risk to young people was low because the wave was likely to be smaller than previously expected.

The supply of alternative vaccines such as Pfizer and Modana also means that changes can occur.

Expert sources say the Johnson & Johnson vaccine approval in the UK will soon be approved.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently evaluating jabs and is said to be in the process of reviewing.

Regarding AstraZeneca, JCVI said that if an alternative vaccine is available, another vaccine should be provided to children under the age of 40 unless there is an underlying health condition and causes a substantial delay in the vaccination program. I’m giving advice.

He urged people to accept the vaccine and warned that the uptake or slowdown of jab deployment would increase the size of the third wave of infection in the United Kingdom.

For this reason, we believe that even people under the age of 40 should be vaccinated rather than not vaccinated.

However, providing a replacement for AstraZeneca to the majority of young people is not considered a supply problem.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chairman of JCVI’s Covid-19, said:

“We continue to assess the benefits / risk balance of the Covid-19 vaccine in the light of the UK’s infection rate and the latest information from MHRA on the very rare event of post-vaccination thrombosis and platelet count reduction.

“As Covid-19 infection rates continue to be suppressed, alternative vaccines to the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine are available for adults aged 18-39 years without underlying health, which causes delays. If not, it is advisable to provide an alternative vaccine for the vaccine.

“The advice is specific to the current UK situation and makes the most of the extensive portfolio of vaccines available.

“The Covid-19 vaccine has already saved thousands of lives, and the benefits for the vast majority of people are clear. If a vaccine is provided, you should take it.”

By April 28, MHRA had received 242 reports of thrombosis with decreased platelet counts in the United Kingdom in all people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine out of approximately 28.5 million doses.

These blood clots occurred in 141 women and 100 men between the ages of 18 and 93 (another case was of unknown gender) and killed 49. Six cases have been reported after the second dose.

A specific type of cerebral thrombosis – cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) – was reported in 93 cases (mean age 47 years), and 149 other major thromboembolism events with decreased platelet count (mean age 55 years). There was (years old).

The overall incidence of low-platelet thrombi after the first dose is 10.5 per million doses and about one millionth after the second dose.

The incidence is 10.1 times per million for people aged 40-49 and 17.4 times for people aged 30-39.

Overall, the mortality rate per million doses is 2.1, while the mortality rate for ages 30-39 is 4.5.

Dr. June Raine, Chief Executive Officer of MHRA, said: “Public security has always been at the forefront of our hearts and we take all reports seriously.

“Our position is that the benefits of the Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca over Covid-19, with the risk of hospitalization and death, continue to outweigh the risks of the majority of people.

“The balance of benefits and risks is very favorable for older people, but more finely balanced for younger people. As JVCI did, this evolving evidence when considering the use of vaccines. It is advisable to take into account. “

At a press conference, Professor Jonathan Van-Tham, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the United Kingdom, was asked about the risk of vaccine repellent in the light of the new AstraZeneca guidance.

He states: “All the polls I read already understand that the British people have a great deal of confidence in the British vaccine program and what it is doing in terms of changing our future. It shows that it is better and stronger in terms of the aversion to death, serious infections, as well as the layer of protection of preventing infections in young adults. “

Professor Vantam said young people are “young and sociable” and “thus more likely to get infected”, and continuing the vaccine program and maintaining confidence is not only in the third wave, but ” It’s very important. ” But basically, while the epidemiological situation is much better than it was a few months ago, we cannot maintain control of the disease without continuing to deploy vaccination programs. “

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, also known as the Janssen vaccine, is also associated with a small risk of blood clots, he said, and is not believed to be deployed in time to complete the adult vaccine population in the United Kingdom. Stated.

However, Professor Vantam said that because it was a one-shot vaccine, “in a difficult-to-reach population with one vaccination and few phone calls, it is not without the vaccine, but very much. It can be important. ” Return to the second vaccination. “

When asked if a person under the age of 40 who was offered AstraZeneca for a vaccine could rebook to get another vaccine, it was a “little theoretical argument” and I thought it would be. did not.

According to the Public Health Services (PHE), the vaccine program is estimated to have prevented more than 10,000 deaths in the UK alone by the end of March.

Health experts have taken AstraZeneca once, regardless of age, and require that everyone who does not suffer from a blood clot receive the same jab twice.

As a precautionary measure, MHRA states that people with severe headaches that are not relieved or exacerbated by painkillers should seek prompt treatment at any time approximately 4 days to 4 weeks after vaccination. Said.

The same is the same: headaches that make you feel sick when you lie down or bend down, blurred vision, feeling or illness, speech problems, weakness, drowsiness or seizures, a rash that looks like a small bruise. This also applies to abnormal headaches that occur, such as or bleeding under the skin, and shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling of the legs or persistent abdominal pain.