MHRA may change advice for young people receiving AZ vaccine

[IloveSooty424]

I just saw this news story on Channel 4 news tonight.

www.channel4.com/news/uk-medicines-regulator-considers-issuing-new-advice-over-oxford-astrazeneca-jab

It seems the MHRA may follow other European countries and Canada and advise that younger people should not receive the AZ vaccine. It seems the decision will be made imminently in the coming days.

I’m due to book my vaccine this week and don’t know whether to wait and see how this plays out. I’m 42. I’m also concerned that if younger people will only be offered the Pfizer vaccine it will slow down the vaccine programme substantially.

Any thoughts?

@Comefromaway
It's highly likely they'll be fine if they didn't develop it after their first.

Well that briefing took a unexpected turn compared to the EMA one. All pretty straightforward though. If you had first jab get the second. Under 30s to get Pfizer or Moderna purely as a balancing of risks descions. Van Tam got told by health trust that this won't affect the schedule planned. Pregnant women and over 30s or those with clotting conditions or previous episodes to risk access will GP. Good result all round really. We are being extra careful more so than the EMA were suggesting. No more the UK taking more risks threads. A pretty result all around

Thanks Sophie it's helpful to see it written exactly as it was said. 😊

@BuggerBognor

the experts are saying someone in their 40s are more at risk of covid itself than from the vaccine, yet the poster recommends not to have the vaccine and wait for another one,

The risk reduces to zero (as far as we know) with an alternative vaccine so I think the post you are referring to is totally reasonable and did not deserve the nasty remark. If AZ was the only game in town it would be different - it isn’t.

The risk doesn’t reduce to zero even if you have none of the jabs. You have about a 5 in a million chance of getting a CVST at any time, and about 12 in a million after having AZ. And a very small number of people have had blood clots, a different kind, after Pfizer, although it doesn’t mean they were caused by the jab.

I’m 30. My confidence in all of this has torpedoed. I would like to have the opportunity to decide what vaccine I have.

• That should be

Over 30s with clotting conditions

Not

Or those

Poor GPs would be over run😂

Does this mean the Moderna doses arriving will now be prioritised for under 30s and so first doses to be given out it under 30s before under 50s?

I don't suppose they'll be able to tell if the extremely rare cases had mild asymptomatic covid cases and then developed long covid (which caused the clotting)? Presumably antibody tests won't be able to tell as the antibodies could be from vaccine or long covid, and we won't know which?

@CuriousaboutSamphire

she won't be having it because lots of other people have!

I most certainly have not said this. My decision not to have the vaccine has absolutely nothing to do with anyone else’s decision and I have made this clear when I have been asked on other threads.

Possibly worth noting though that @EasterIssland seems to think that vaccines only work for an individual when other people have been vaccinated so that could be what is motivating her to tell others to have it.

Btw, ‘long covid’ includes people with mild symptoms, such as a cough, that linger for 4 weeks+. The majority of people’s symptoms resolve within 12 weeks.

Source NICE - before certain posters accuse me of anti-vaxx rhetoric

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng188

Can any of you statistical wizards help me?

If most cases are asymptomatic (80% originally mooted but now saying 1 in 3) then taking that into account how does that affect the risk of getting the vaccine vs. risk of covid?

@OliverBabish

I’m 30. My confidence in all of this has torpedoed. I would like to have the opportunity to decide what vaccine I have.

I would probably stay off these threads then. It won't help. They have a tendency to attract the long term vaccine critics.

True. But what’s the likelihood of bad outcome from vaccine v Covid?

Personally I would rather take a small% risk of bad lungs or fatigue for a few months, than even the tiniest risk of a severe brain clot. I'm not sure where you got 20% long covid from, that seems like it was plucked out of thin air and not stratified by age either (I'm under 30, slim and healthy).

@SophieB100 thanks for link , tried watching but couldn't hear it all
Had my first az nearly 3 weeks ago and i my 40's so was worried

@OliverBabish

I’m 30. My confidence in all of this has torpedoed. I would like to have the opportunity to decide what vaccine I have.

And what will you base your decision on?

Will you trust the thousands of experienced scientists who feed data to JCVI, HMRA and others who were represented today?

Or will you go with a feeling, something from somewhere else?

They are not saying they have a preference or any serious safety concerns. They are being hyper cautious because there are alternatives available.

@bumbleymummy do whatever you want, I'd rather listen to MHRA who have repeated have the vaccine or 2nd dose despite your age. Wont discuss anymore with you, you left it clear yesterday that you know most than anyone about vaccines. All the best!

@vickyp0llard if your under 30 you won't get az anyway now will be one of the others or are you saying you don't want any of the jabs

Will they continue with age being the criteria for offering or will under 30s be prioritised where Pfizer or Moderna are available? I’m mid 30s and will take any vaccine they are willing to stick in my arm when it’s my turn. I hope this doesn’t delay when my turn comes.

Out of a total of 30million people having the AZ vaccine, 18 have had clots - that's 1 in 600,000 which are pretty good odds against it being a problem

Maths isn’t my strong point but these figures don’t add up.

@user34254356

Does this mean the Moderna doses arriving will now be prioritised for under 30s and so first doses to be given out it under 30s before under 50s?

doubt it , someone age 45 has got more risks out of covid than someone age 25

@Truelymadlydeeplysomeonesmum true. I am a critic but am very interested in the roll out, the vaccines, the data and the risks. These are so new and have never ever been rolled out on this scale so the scientific part of my nature is excited about the outcome.

So my questions might seem dispassionate and unpleasant to those worried about their health/getting the vaccine. It is a fair point - if you are worried then this discussion might be too much.

Personally I would rather take a small% risk of bad lungs or fatigue for a few months, than even the tiniest risk of a severe brain clot

I feel similar.

I wonder if the other vaccinations are being looked at as well ? Surely now they all need looking at Just to be sure or has there been zero cases with them

bumbley that is what your explanation boiled down to, as far as I remember. Lots of what about all those who can't have the vaccine, all the unvaccinated kids... that you'd just be one amongst the many etc etc.

@user34254356

Does this mean the Moderna doses arriving will now be prioritised for under 30s and so first doses to be given out it under 30s before under 50s?

Possibly???