IRELAND - just heard people in their 20's will be offered AZ Vaccine

[CityCommuter]

If anyone from Ireland reads Mumsnet can you please explain why young people in their 20's will be offered the AZ vaccine in the coming weeks? I just heard this from a friend living in Ireland and I'm interested and shocked at the same time being as the risk of blood clots associated with AZ is significantly higher in people aged under 40... why the sudden change of heart as the facts haven't changed?

According to the RTE website there's a surplus of the AZ vaccine so the government is considering offering it to young people so the vaccines don't go to waste. I'm not sure whether or not this has definitely been decided though.

Weighing up the blood clot risk vs risk of rising delta variant infections on young people and considering offering them AZ, if someone wants them fine if not can wait for Pfizer. Otherwise it’ll be late august September before they can get the vaccine.

More risk of blood clot taking the contraceptive pill.
I guess they believe the benefits outweigh the cons for the AZ.
My sister is 32 and had the AZ

My son is 26 and had the AZ. He is in a vulnerable category ( ironically he suffers from blood clots!) and so was vaccinated just before issues began to be raised. The risk of developing blood clots is so much lower than from other sources ( the Pill etc) that it seems worth it!

Only over 60s got the AstraZeneca vaccine here so there's going to be a surplus and all the other age cohorts will have been at least partially vaccinated by then so they're considering offering AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson to people in their 20s so they don't go to waste.

There's supposed to be a treatment for the cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with low platelets now so it's less dangerous than before if it's identified quickly.

1. The risk assessment will change as cases go up
2. I have always felt (and do even more so now) that anyone under 40 should be offered the opportunity to have AZ. I am sure there are many that would be happy to.

The risk of clots may be higher for younger people but it still remains overall a very small risk and many people would probably be comfortable with it.

I've just read that it's now confirmed that they'll administer AZ as well as the J&J to people under 40 in Ireland

It'll be on an opt in basis AFAIK, so you can choose to get AZ now (and know the risks associated with that) or choose to wait until Pfizer or Moderna is available (and know the risks associated with delaying vaccine with the Delta cases increasing, hospitality reopening etc).

Sensible decision, given the growth of the delta variant. If I was under 40, I'd want the option!

@RitaFires - not only the over 60's who were offered the AZ vaccine as in my house my 23 year old daughter and 18 year old son were both given the AZ vaccine whilst my husband and I got the Pfeizer one.

The reasoning behind giving the AZ vaccine to under 40's is that the risk of blood clotting from it is much lower than the delta variant covid virus. The risk of blood clotting is rare - as others have said, higher risk on the contraceptive pill.

@Rathmobhaile I'm in one of the higher risk groups and I got Pfizer, I think a few high risk people got AstraZeneca but it was abandoned once the reports of CSVT with paradoxically low platelets came in. It's mostly been the over 60s getting AstraZeneca but I should have clarified that a few others got it too, I think some healthcare workers were offered it as well.

I think it's good to give people the option but I wouldn't have chosen AstraZeneca for myself, it is a small risk but I have lots of underlying health conditions and wouldn't want to add anything extra into the mix, it's also not as effective against the delta variant so I don't know how attractive it will be to unvaccinated people.

Huh where I am they freaked after an 18 yo passed away with a blood clot after the jab. So much so that they even stopped second doses under 60, I’m 35 and had first dose of AZ in March, they gave me the option of skipping the dose or going mixed schedule. I went mixed, had second dose with Pfizer. I’m going to get my titre done next week, they say the mixed schedule sends your antibodies through the roof so I’m hoping for a good result.

[quote RitaFires]@Rathmobhaile I'm in one of the higher risk groups and I got Pfizer, I think a few high risk people got AstraZeneca but it was abandoned once the reports of CSVT with paradoxically low platelets came in. It's mostly been the over 60s getting AstraZeneca but I should have clarified that a few others got it too, I think some healthcare workers were offered it as well.

I think it's good to give people the option but I wouldn't have chosen AstraZeneca for myself, it is a small risk but I have lots of underlying health conditions and wouldn't want to add anything extra into the mix, it's also not as effective against the delta variant so I don't know how attractive it will be to unvaccinated people.[/quote]
Two doses of AZ are pretty effective against delta. With cases going up, I'd have thought quite a lot of people would choose to have it.

Informed consent. It makes sense, give people the choice and they can get vaccinated sooner, or choose to wait until a different vaccine is available over the coming months.

Informed consent

It's debateable just how informed it is, especially when individuals will only be able to travel overseas and things if they are vaccinated, and the alternative is not a different vaccine.

But yes it's fine, many countries are doing the same where they have lots of AZ.

@AlexaShutUp That's good news, the figures I saw might be out of date but they said Pfizer was significantly more effective against the Delta variant. I'd probably wait a few weeks more for an mRNA vaccine if given the choice but there's bound to be people who just want any vaccine as soon as possible.

I personally believe this change in policy is more to use up extra vaccines than anything else, AstraZeneca and Johnson &Johnson were both substantially delayed in delivering vaccines to Ireland and now that a decent supply is coming in the patients they had intended to give them to have already got Pfizer or Moderna. They rolled out Johnson & Johnson to pharmacies for over 50s but I don't think there's been much uptake. We upped our Pfizer order because everything else was only trickling in so there's going to be a lot of extra vaccines in the next few months.

36, had both doses of AZ and no issues. Reality is the contraception I was given for years with no issues had more risk. People should be given the option. It makes sense

I’m under 40 and I just had my second AstraZeneca shot today. It’s a negligible risk and I’d rather be protected. I have more chance of clotting on the contraceptive pill

That's good news, the figures I saw might be out of date but they said Pfizer was significantly more effective against the Delta variant. I'd probably wait a few weeks more for an mRNA vaccine if given the choice but there's bound to be people who just want any vaccine as soon as possible.

It's true that pfizer offers a higher rate of protection overall, based on the data thus far. However, there is much less difference between the two in terms of the protection against serious illness. AZ reduces your risk of hospitalisation by 92%, compared to pfizer by 96%. Given that the risk of hospitalisation is more than doubled by the delta variant, I would far rather get vaccinated quickly (if I hadn't already had it) than hang out for an extra 4% protection several weeks later.