AstraZeneca vaccine makers say Australians are at risk for mixed messaging

“But I think the problem is the vaccination message. At some point, if you’re telling people,” Oh, you shouldn’t get this vaccine, it’s probably not the best for you, “I want to change that. Because I think. I think it’s difficult for people who are thinking about whether or not to get vaccinated and when to get vaccinated by sending the message “Oh, I changed my mind, I like it”.

“The public health message needs to be really clear, and when it changes, it can be difficult for people to deal with and can have unintended effects. That may be what is happening in Australia. ..

“A few years ago, there was this kind of backlash against experts in the UK. Nobody [apparently] I would like to hear from an expert. Well, I don’t think that’s always true.

“But I don’t think people want a sound bite where one expert says one thing and then another says another. Everyone understands what that means. Is not.”

The Australian Immunology Technical Advisory Group has made three important changes to its position on optimal use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. First, we recommended Pfizer to be under 50 and then under 60.

Last week, as the outbreak of Delta in Sydney expanded, a group of experts said adults in the city “need to strongly consider vaccinations available.” But their position remained unchanged for the rest of the country.

In response to Gilbert’s remarks, ATAGI Co-Chair Professor Alan Cheng emphasized that “our advice has clearly changed significantly since April and is specific to a situation that is significantly different from the UK. I did. “

“We are in constant contact with our UK colleagues and they have made similar recommendations specific to their situation.”

UK health officials also recommended the use of alternative vaccines for people under the age of 40, as the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization changed their advice as well.

Margie Danchin, a vaccination expert at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and a non-voting member of ATAGI, said Gilbert expressed “understandable frustration” in a general message about vaccines. Stated.

“But an important factor that is overlooked is that medical and ATAGI advice can change depending on what is happening during the pandemic. And that’s what we do with public messaging. It’s a place where you could have failed in, “said Associate Professor Danchin.

“Unfortunately, this situation is incredibly difficult due to supply constraints. If alternatives are offered free of charge, this decision is not too difficult and is subject to change.

“But at the moment, AstraZeneca is the main vaccine, and as the threat of serious illness increases, of course, advice changes to prevent people from really getting sick.”

Gilbert and her Oxford University colleague, Catherine Green, developed the AstraZeneca vaccine at record speed last year and wrote a book explaining their efforts and the science behind them.

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Vaccines are costly produced during the pandemic under an Oxford agreement with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

Oxford and AstraZeneca announced Thursday that 1 billion doses had been released to 170 countries.

Gilbert, who fell for her work in June, realized that countries with low infection rates had to consider the risk of side effects of rare vaccines, but made it more widely available in Australia. We welcomed new discussions on whether or not it should be.

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“If Australia is at increased risk of COVID infection and the Delta variant is very susceptible, I think it is correct to reassess the recommendations for the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” she said.

“We also got more information on how to deal with these rare adverse events, for example, how to warn people and treat people when these events occur. So I think the situation has changed. “

She also said that those who participated in the weekend protests needed to know the vaccine. “People who don’t want to be blocked are completely understandable. No one wants to be blocked. But the way to avoid long-term blockages is to increase vaccination coverage.”

Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and principal investigator of the clinical trial, explained. The concept of risk was a serious failure during the pandemic..

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“Going out on the road driving a car in the UK this summer is far more dangerous than having a blood clot,” he said.

“Most people aren’t too worried about our stay here in the UK, but people are worried about vaccination.

“You mentioned Australia. [Well] Throughout Europe, this is an absolute nightmare of changing the recommended age in the last six months, and some people didn’t get vaccinated when they were able to get vaccinated … and that’s it. It’s a big risk to our population around the world. “

Gilbert also used an interview to state her personal view that children should not be vaccinated in countries that are wealthier than adults at risk in developing countries.

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“For me, if I don’t have enough vaccines to supply to the whole world, my priority is to reach those healthcare professionals, especially in other areas where vaccines are not yet available, at constant risk. “She said.

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t vaccinate our children, but our top priority is to vaccinate other parts of the world where only 1% of our population has been vaccinated so far. I think it’s something to do. “

All Cabinets meet on Friday Discuss the latest outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia.

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