I've decided not to go ahead with my 2nd dose of the AZ vaccine. I'm happy having the Pfizer - will this be allowed?

[Ashleys63]

I've just lost all confidence in the AZ vaccine and regret having it at all.
I know the risks are tiny etc etc but I want a vaccine without these associated risks.
I'm 56 so in one of the top groups but just feel so uneasy about it all now.

Shosha, do you know how many of those who had the clotting issues actually had a second dose?
I don’t get the reassurance here, tbh

If you died due to a clot, you wouldn’t get a second dose.
And if you were very ill, would you get a second dose?

How many people have had a second AZ dose anyway? Enough to make statistical evaluation valuable?

The risk is higher from flying and the pill, indeed even from Covid-19.

What youre planning doesnt make any sense at all, op.

The advice is clear that you should have your second dose as scheduled. You fall well into the age range where your risk/benefit is heavily weighted towards taking the vaccine.
You are of course within your rights to refuse the second dose but I don’t think we’re anywhere near being in a situation where you can choose a different vaccine.

to be fair it's such a mixed picture. Canada and Germany stopping it for under 55's for example . uk under 30 etc....why.....its become so hard to know what to do for the best.people are scared and worried

Pfizer isn’t exactly in abundance in the UK at the moment and the priority will go to those who need a second Pfizer jab.

I agree. I'm not going to have my 2nd dose. I had an awful reaction to the first (excessive bleeding) and family deaths from the very rare condition they are warning about.

I'm in an impossible situation now so I guess I have to remain half done.

You’re within you’re rights to decline the 2nd vaccine

You’re not within your rights to start demanding a different vaccine based on a whim not medical knowledge. At some point you’ll probably be able to buy vaccines, at which point go for it, but this won’t happen for a long time.

Why Pfizer? You know cases of blood clots in the US have been linked to Pfizer? Though again the numbers are small so its hard to establish cause.

www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/91813

Funnily enough I didn't take the pill because I was worried about the blood clot risk, I used a different form of contraception.

What is worrying me is the press reports, at first the blood clots were found in 7 men only. Then it went up to 25 women and then 79 people of mixed gender - or something like that? maybe I'm seeing reports from different countries I don't know, but I'm just so worried we're not getting the full facts.

@Willyoujustbequiet

I agree. I'm not going to have my 2nd dose. I had an awful reaction to the first (excessive bleeding) and family deaths from the very rare condition they are warning about.

I'm in an impossible situation now so I guess I have to remain half done.

In your situation I probably wouldn’t have the second dose either but for most people it doesn’t make sense not to.

You are far more likely to have blood clot issues from catching Covid itself than from the AZ vaccine.

@Ashleys63 you can only trust what the official line is, or not.

There are no guarantees in life and you have to weigh up the chances of catching the virus vs the vaccine. In my particular case I’ve taken bigger risks with my health in the past (plastic surgery) so I felt that since I’m CEV I should have the vaccine.

They are doing studies to see if mixing vaccines is ok. But the results won’t be known for months unfortunately.
At your age, the risks of a blood clot after your second dose are exceedingly low.

There are blood clot risks with Pfizer too, all medication carries risk. The list of possible side-effects was horrendous for the last lot of antibiotics I was prescribed.

AZ Vaccine clot = 1 in 600,000.
Covid positive clot = 1in 6.

We are globally in the middle of rolling out a vaccine programme. Numbers affected are going to change.
Read developments from reputable sources. The advice may change, it may not.
But it seems sensible that IF there is a slightly raised risk of some complications from one vaccine brand to certain age groups to switch that group to an alternative. Doesn't mean that the AZ is unsafe for everyone else.
ALL medications have some risk. But we are unusually in a position where millions of people are taking the same drugs pretty much simultaneously, so we will see some adverse reactions.

@Ashleys63

I've just lost all confidence in the AZ vaccine and regret having it at all. I know the risks are tiny etc etc but I want a vaccine without these associated risks. I'm 56 so in one of the top groups but just feel so uneasy about it all now.

Are you not more worried about the risks from Covid than the vaccine? If not, why not?

If not unless there’s a clinical reason or a surplus of vaccines I can’t imagine you’ll get to choose. Pfizer needs to be kept aside now for under 30s and second doses.

Unfortunately, Pfizer has also got side effects and they appear more prominent after the second dose. The risk of an allergic reaction after RNA vaccines is very real.

I agree with the comment about "the devil you know". You were fine after the first dose. The side effects after the second dose of AZ are generally much more muted.

Entering an uncharted territory of mixing vaccines seems a much higher risk to me.

@Ashleys63 - ooh, a guinea pig willing to risk mixing and matching vaccines. Confronted by the evidence that the Astra Zeneca vaccine is working to reduce deaths and serious illness in the UK, you want to take the risk of a) depriving some Pfizer vaccine from people who want to ensure they get 2 doses of the same thing; and b) possibly suffering rare side effects from a different vaccine and/or the combination of two different vaccines. Or, I guess, you want to have already taken the risk from the vaccine and then go back to risking the real thing as soon as possible. I admire your daring attempts to maximise your chances of a rare complication arising from something!

@Iamthesandstorm I think they mean blind as in the scientific study usage of the word. So no data on what effect taking two different vaccines has.

@Iamthesandstorm I think the poster meant mixing vaccines without a vision of what may happen rather than actually going blind as a result!

It took me a minute to figure it out too 🤣

You would prefer to mix vaccines, which is so far unproven to work, and not recommended by the experts (yet) rather than take your second vaccine which is recommended by the experts? I despair I really do.

The number of people in this country that know better than the scientists is mind boggling.

Pfizer has had blood clots associated with it too.

People's reaction to risk/media coverage is off the scale at the moment. Calm down people.

I say that as someone with a blood clotting disorder and experience of clotting events btw.

@Lovelydaybut

How many people have had a second AZ dose anyway? Enough to make statistical evaluation valuable?

Good question. How many people in the younger groups have had the chance to have two doses?

How are you getting to the vaccination centre, there might be more risk to your health doing that (statistics in car crash) than having the vaccine