So the under 30s are going to be given the jab that actually works?

[Whichjab]

On the news today (watching Sky or I'd post link) and they is a Doctor saying that AZ doesn't work very well on the South African variant.
So with the news that AZ isn't being used on under 30's this less at risk group will be getting the more effective jab and those 30+ who are statistically more at risk of covid are going to be issued with a jab that not only risks clots but is less effective. Great.

I'm 30. I know there has to be a cut off somewhere but it does seem strange that it's considered safe for me to have AZ but not someone a few months younger. I'll take whatever I'm offered though.
Oh good point, I turned 30 last week but in my head I am still thinking of myself in the under 30s category. Wishful thinking maybe

Completely agree @RaskolnikovsGarret

@RaskolnikovsGarret

I can’t believe the number of threads there are at the moment about people feeling hard done by because they are X age, getting Y jab etc. or are just outside a certain age boundary etc.

In my immediate family, as is the case with most people, we have people of different ages, sexes and health, and with different employment situations. We all consider ourselves very lucky to live in a country where vaccine and treatment levels are much better than in many other countries.

The way so many people are feeling sorry for themselves smacks of a very entitled population. I don’t think I am a sheep, but until I can create a vaccine myself, I will be grateful for any that my family and I are given. I don’t think scientists or politicians are out to kill us; this pandemic is horrendous, and there are no certainties, but I have an immense sense of gratitude to those trying to help us based on the level of scientific knowledge at the time - which is continually changing.

I don’t feel the level of self-pity demonstrated on this and similar threads reflects very well on us as a nation. Are people expecting a vaccine tailored exactly to their needs that has been tested for every single possible risk, and do they think they should be given it before everyone else? I think we need to be a bit more patient.

I agree with this.

There’s a lot of ott stuff on here atm.

As a caveat to the above, I couldn't care less what vaccine I am given. To be honest I don't even mind if I don't get one at all, being a 30 year old healthy female.

@OnePerfectCartwheel

Yes I agree, I’m 33 and would be very happy to not be vaccinated if it meant being distributed to a much more vulnerable person abroad. My in laws are abroad and mid 70s and don’t know one friend who has been vaccinated and they are all 75+

Think title of this is bit misleading Claiming something doesn't work, maybe think about all of us that have had az

These vaccines have made people so grabby and entitled. 6 months ago we had no vaccines. Now we have 3 safe and effective ones and more coming. Genuine health issues aside, people bitching and moaning about what vaccine they get is so tedious. How many of us have a clue about what other brands of vaccine we ever have?

@OverTheRainbow88

The jealousy covid has created is unreal.

Under 30s really haven’t been a slight priority at all during covid, and now God forbid they may get a vaccine that is less likely to give them a clot let’s be outraged.

What a sad butter society we have become

Totally agree

The young have sacrificed so much to protect the old and now people are bitching about them getting a “better” vaccine. Unbelievable.

Sigh. I can't be arsed doing all the detail again. Google it. There are similar very rare, almost neglible risks being lifted with all the other vaccines. It may not be in the news in the UK, but there's a reason that the web is worldwide. Life isn't safe. You'll all do stuff that's much more dangerous - like driving - daily. It's a fact of life that you'll die. One day. Get over it. This panic and illogical fear is wearing now.

“The young have sacrificed so much to protect the old and now people are bitching about them getting a “better” vaccine. Unbelievable.”

You know... we’ve all sacrificed so much. Nobody is bitching, but the UK’s course vs other countries does throw up a lot of questions and doubt.

I feel for those involved in developing and rolling out all the vaccines. They have done the most amazing job, developing these vaccines, getting the manufacturing scaled up, the logistics of offering and administering them to millions of people at a phenomenal speed.

Thanks to this, the rate of hospitalisation and deaths in the UK is falling far quicker than cases, and the way to open up without causing a massive surge in illness and death is now within our grasp.

And what do they get in response? Accusations of leaving people behind, complaints that it’s been rushed, moans about giving the “bad” “ineffective” “dangerous” vaccine to certain groups, when the reality is that ALL the vaccines are phenomenally effective and ALL the vaccines present a very low risk to those who receive them.

This latest adjustment to the rollout is NOT because the AZ is dangerous to the under 30’s, it is because, owing to their low risk from Covid itself, the risk/benefit analysis to them is not quite as clear as it is for older people. And although AZ appears to be - in one small study - less effective at preventing symptomatic disease from the SA strain, it is still highly effective at preventing hospitalisation and death.

They must wonder why they bothered.

a jab that gives them a lower chance of blood clots, which are more common in that age group with that particular vaccine.

No this is not the case.
The risk which is absolutely tiny is not greater among younger people. It's the same for all age groups but the risk of covid is lower in the under 30s so the ratio of risk to benefit is higher.
Even this is only true now because infection rates are so low.

How can anyone begrudge the under 30s anything right now?

We should be counting our lucky stars that we are being given anything at the moment.

On an individual level though it isnt
Az vs covid it is
Az vs another vax.
We could delay rollout. And i see it could be an assumption that 40yo would get covid in that time. But it is a matter of say 8w between may when they might be offered it and end of jul when everyone should be done.
I imagine some 30-50 might just wait thinking they will get a choice.

Also worrying about it , is not a dig at oxford and it not working against SA variant. It's a reason to have multiple vaxs. Because they couldnt have know which would work that isnt a bad thing.
A bad thing though is giving a less effective vax to more at risk groups. (1-4 will be ok as they will get a top up).

And it is unclear whether any top up would have to be of the original vax. Meaning those taking AZ would continue to take those risks. (And will those who didnt take AZ first time reject an AZ top up??

I wish people would stop saying AZ isn't effective against the SA variant.

It was one study where 1000 people got the jab and 1000 people got a placebo. No one in the group was older than mid 30s. There were around 20 infections in each group, which means that the confidence intervals are massive and the whole thing should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Until we can get a much larger study with a broad population range, we can't say anything either way about how effective the AZ vaccine is against the SA variant.

In the uk data 'only' 3 of the deaths are under 30 - which may be higher due to fewer vax for them.
16 were over 30.
Other countries have said under 50 so either they have different data or are more cautious

As far as the SA variant goes, we don't know whether AZ doesn't still protect against severe illness, likely it does. Pfizer didn't come up too well against SA variant either - I think only a third as effective as it is against the original strain.
The SA variant is a problem for all the current vaccines, not just AZ. So we will need boosters.

@Schulte

“The young have sacrificed so much to protect the old and now people are bitching about them getting a “better” vaccine. Unbelievable.”

You know... we’ve all sacrificed so much. Nobody is bitching, but the UK’s course vs other countries does throw up a lot of questions and doubt.

Well not you perhaps but there’s been non stop moaning about everything to do with the pandemic including now the vaccine for over a year. It’s pretty tiresome now.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the UK’s vaccine rollout and the course it is taking now. It’s about the balance of risk isn’t it. Those most at harm from Covid don’t have the luxury of waiting for a “better” vaccine. They need to take what we have available now as their risk of hospitalisation and death is higher than other groups and there would be greater harm to them waiting for a “better” vaccine

Plus other vaccines will come along and we will all benefit. I’ll be 50 in a couple of years and I’m in group 6 as it is so I reckon Covid vaccines will be a fact of life for me ongoing. If the AZ keeps me alive and out of hospital and in turn helps all of us out of this shitshow I have no complaints

3 of our DD's had AZ already, one got Pfizer as a leftover vaccine job.

@RaskolnikovsGarret

I can’t believe the number of threads there are at the moment about people feeling hard done by because they are X age, getting Y jab etc. or are just outside a certain age boundary etc.

In my immediate family, as is the case with most people, we have people of different ages, sexes and health, and with different employment situations. We all consider ourselves very lucky to live in a country where vaccine and treatment levels are much better than in many other countries.

The way so many people are feeling sorry for themselves smacks of a very entitled population. I don’t think I am a sheep, but until I can create a vaccine myself, I will be grateful for any that my family and I are given. I don’t think scientists or politicians are out to kill us; this pandemic is horrendous, and there are no certainties, but I have an immense sense of gratitude to those trying to help us based on the level of scientific knowledge at the time - which is continually changing.

I don’t feel the level of self-pity demonstrated on this and similar threads reflects very well on us as a nation. Are people expecting a vaccine tailored exactly to their needs that has been tested for every single possible risk, and do they think they should be given it before everyone else? I think we need to be a bit more patient.

Well said

Considering people aged 18-30 are less likely to take get vaccinated, because their personal risk is smaller than older people I think it's only fair that they're given a choice regarding vaccines. At the end of the day government (and majority on mumsnet) wants every adult vaccinated for herd immunity, so it might convince some people that are on the fence. You can't really complain that people won't get vaccinated for the society's benefit and at the same time moan about them getting a choice. Be grateful that they want to get vaccinated to mainly protect YOU, not themselves.