‘We don’t need AZ for younger people when we have other vaccines coming’

[Circumlocutious]

I’m hearing this a lot about the AZ jab: why take the risk of giving it to a younger population (even if it’s a 1 in 100,000 risk of CVST, when there are other vaccines on the horizon that are even less risky. We have Jansen / Novavax / Moderna on the way so we can just wait a little longer. How lovely.

But ending the pandemic isn’t just about sorting out your own country. What about developing countries who don’t have the luxury of choice between expensive vaccines or mRNA vaccines with difficult storage requirements? What are they supposed to do? What do we want them to do? Suck it up?

I’m from a Middle Eastern country where this is now huge doubt over AZ. This from a place with a semi-nonexistent /crumbling healthcare system.. It’s absurd. And the narrative is ‘why should we take this vaccine when Europe is turning up its nose at it’?

For all the attempts to figure out how risky AZ really is and reassure our developed nations in the process, it’s like we don’t realise this debate is being witnessed on a global scale. And it will have consequences. Very sad.

@Aloethere so if they were so concerned about the safety of the vaccine (which had gone through all standard clinical trials), why start making threats about banning exports? Why would they want it if it was so 'unsafe'?

If and I repeat if there is a slight risk associated with the AZ vaccine, I'd be extremely surprised not to see exactly the same risk with the Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik V, Sinovac and CanSino vaccines, all of which operate in a similar way.

The Pfizer jab also has issues with clots and we don't know about the others yet.

Plus none of them have been approved for use on children.

So I'll wait for the scientists and the doctors to make a decision thanks, rather than some random person, with another agenda!

@StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind

I don't think it's simplistic to say their behaviour is awful when they have been questioning the safety of the vaccine and damaging confidence in it, all the while making threats about banning exports.

I never said anything about their behaviour being anti-British. If anything they've done far more harm to their own citizens.

We are not in a position to throw stones here.

The UK have a Britain first clause in the contract of the vaccine we are manufacturing here, we're importing more from the EU (including some that was supposed to have been reserved by AZ for the EU) and 5 million doses from the Serum Institute whose doses are supposed to be split between India and the poorest countries in the world.

The EU might well have behaved badly, although probably not in the way most MNers think, but the UK have behaved shockingly badly too when it comes to vaccines.

@Mintjulia

The Pfizer jab also has issues with clots and we don't know about the others yet.

Plus none of them have been approved for use on children.

So I'll wait for the scientists and the doctors to make a decision thanks, rather than some random person, with another agenda!

Do you mean clots in general or this specific rare type of clot?

[quote StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind]@Aloethere so if they were so concerned about the safety of the vaccine (which had gone through all standard clinical trials), why start making threats about banning exports? Why would they want it if it was so 'unsafe'? [/quote]
The EU have never said it was unsafe so I am not sure what point you are trying to make, sorry.