Ireland AZ over 60s only.

[anyoldtime]

It’s being reported that Ireland is going to give AZ to over 60s only. Expected announcement at 7.30pm this evening.

200K have already been vaccinated with it and while it was paused, it then resumed although they knew there were issues surrounding it when it was resumed.

I’m pleased they are being responsible but a bit late for the 200K already injected...,!

I'm in Ireland and know a few people who will be relieved not to be forced into having the AZ jab. 2 of them are on warfarin.

Yep, mostly relief amongst my group of friends too. At most we'll be waiting an extra couple of weeks, that's absolutely fine if we get to have a vaccine that hasn't caused the deaths of perfectly healthy young people.

Well these last few months have been a bit of an eye opener for me and not in a good way. People seem completely unable to risk assess for themselves, Governments (fortunately on this occasion not U.K.) are acting as scientists whilst ignoring the actual science, vaccines are being used for political purposes, due process on procurement is being sidestepped and in general the people in charge who should be keeping their heads are losing them - incredible.

I'll also put money on AZ, at the end of all this, being among one of the safest vaccines out there. There are some difficult questions that will need to be answered by Governments who have chosen to ignore the scientific bodies (MHRA, EMA and WHO) because they thought more about the number of votes than their actual voters, wanted to score political points (or were just plain scared they may be sued]

I do think that regulatory agencies will do everything they can to cover themselves against litigation first and foremost, even if that’s not actually in the interests of public health.

The medicines regulators (well EMA and MHRA) are stating that the benefits of the vaccine still outweigh the risks.

These decisions to restrict vaccination to certain age groups are being taken by countries at a national level. With the guidance of Advisory bodies, Committees etc.

J&J vaccine in under review by the EMA at the moment....following blood clot issues.

The European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) safety committee, Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (“PRAC”) began a review to assess reports of blood clots in a few individuals who had taken the J&J JNJ one-shot COVID-19 vaccine.

J&J vaccine in under review by the EMA at the moment....following blood clot issues

J&J, like AZ, is DNA based while Pfizer and Moderna are MRNA based. It seems this causes the clotting.

www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/johnson-and-johnson-vaccine-probe-deepens-europes-covid-woes/

If people are happy to wait for a 100% safe vaccine that doesn't exist then that's fine but the virus isn't going anywhere. None of these vaccines have been trialed en masse, new data and risks are going to come up with all of them I would imagine over the course of time.

Yes I read something about j & j as well
Might of been in usa
I do wonder if we will see issues with the others as think there has been some things , I don't believe any are 100 percent safe , no medication is
Its up to each country what they do and as its ever changing who knows what will happen in 6 weeks
Im in the uk had first AZ and watching whats going on closely

@anyoldtime haven't pfizer and Moderna had some poss links of issues as well though? Although so far less numbers ?

Governments (fortunately on this occasion not U.K.) are acting as scientists whilst ignoring the actual science, vaccines are being used for political purposes.

Yes, the medical regulators in most of Western Europe, as well as Canada and Australia, are restricting a source of vaccine supply for their people just to stick the boot into the UK.

Not everything is about you!

Each country makes its own risk assessment based on its situation. Australia has practically no covid at the moment, so they can afford to be cautious and wait for more data. European countries have much higher stocks of Pfizer than AZ (which is the opposite to the UK), and they also have Moderna and J&J coming through. Which gives them breathing room.

Why aren’t people commenting on the clots happening because of Pfizer?

Why over 60’s only? Clots are being found in much younger people

Why op, are you upset about the 200k already vaccinated? If there were going to be issues they would have happened by now and there have been no cases of clots after second jabs

@Sakura7 im english and I do think people are taking it personally and every country makes decisions based on its own unique circumstances this was said in the uk press conference
Like I said earlier this is ever changing and in 5 weeks who knows what will be happening as more vaccines roll out and more data is gathered
I have had my first az just over 3 weeks ago ( 45) had zero symptoms and hoping passed dangerous stage ??? Will be watching very closely regarding my second
My dh due to book his and said he will have AZ still tomorrow others won't, its a personal choice

Yes, the medical regulators in most of Western Europe, as well as Canada and Australia, are restricting a source of vaccine supply for their people just to stick the boot into the UK. hmm

Not everything is about you!

Where have I said it is?
What you can look at is our COVID cases and deaths over the last few months and ask who has the better/safer strategy for their citizens.

I read at the weekend about a family whose husband/father had sadly lost his life from a blood clot following vaccination who were pleading with people to still go ahead and get the vaccine.

Why aren’t people commenting on the clots happening because of Pfizer?

I guess because there are fewer clotting reports in Pfizer and those that are being reported are not the same type of clots.

Why over 60’s only? Clots are being found in much younger people AZ is only being recommended for 60 - 69 year olds because clotting is being seen in under 60s.

Why op, are you upset about the 200k already vaccinated? If there were going to be issues they would have happened by now and there have been no cases of clots after second jabs

Ireland hasn't given second injections of AZ as there was supposed to be a twelve week period between doses and we only started using AZ in February. Therefore, there isn't data to reflect what happens after the second dose.

At most we'll be waiting an extra couple of weeks, that's absolutely fine if we get to have a vaccine that hasn't caused the deaths of perfectly healthy young people.

Again there is NO PROVEN LINK between blood clots and the AZ vaccine as per the WHO it is all precautions based possible links.

@worriedatthemoment I very much hope that in coming weeks more information about the clotting risk will become available. If it can be narrowed down to a particular cause, or a particular risk group, it's much easier to deal with. And it gives confidence to people like you who are in between doses.

@StormzyinaTCup I don't think comparing the Irish and British covid death rates supports your argument.

Sakura7 I know this thread is about Ireland but my post was more about Europe in general rather than it being British vs Irish.

@StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind

https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/articles/2021/update-following-mhra-and-ema-decisions-on-astrazenecas-covid-19-vaccine.html

And yes given both the MRHA and the EMA have stressed it is safe to use and the potential for blood clots is an incredibly rare side effect, I do question the motives of those countries.

What motives do you suspect they have?

People seem completely unable to risk assess for themselves

Just because their conclusions are different than yours, doesn’t mean they can’t risk assess for themselves.

@StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind
And yes given both the MRHA and the EMA have stressed it is safe to use and the potential for blood clots is an incredibly rare side effect, I do question the motives of those countries.

The British medicines regulator, the MHRA, have not recommended that AZ be restricted to any particular age group.

The MHRA is not recommending age restrictions in COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca vaccine use.

However ,the UK government's vaccine advisory group, the JCVI, to recommend that people aged 18 to 29 be offered an alternative vaccine where available.
Professor Lim Wei Shen, of the JCVI, said the move was being made "out of the utmost caution rather than because we have any serious safety concerns".

The UK have done the same thing, albeit with a different age group. What nefarious motive do you attribute to the UK as they are introducing an age restriction whereas the MHRA explicitly did not recommend this?

www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-issues-new-advice-concluding-a-possible-link-between-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca-and-extremely-rare-unlikely-to-occur-blood-clots

www.bbc.com/news/health-56665517

@TooOldandTired

My parents who are in their late 50s/early 60s got their second Pfizer shot last week

Wow where are they living? My parents are mid 70's and won't have their first one for another 2 weeks.

They live quite remote and got it because of where they live (being vague because Ireland is small).

My in-laws, mid seventies have both received their first shots of Pfizer. They don't live in a remote area.

Im confused alright. I thought it was safe for under 55s

So a couple of weeks delay not months then op?

@Cailleach1 wrt 18-29 yr olds in the UK bring offered a different vaccine, I think the reasons are twofold; particularly in the youngest of that age group, late teens to early 20s, the benefits of being vaccinated at all aren't as great for someone in their 30s- they are far less at risk of dying of the virus. So if there is this tiny, minuscule risk of the blood clot, the risk for an 18 year old of coronavirus is just as small tbh.

The second reason is to ensure confidence and good uptake of the vaccine.

I agree completely with @StormzyinaTCup that those waiting for a 100% safe vaccine will be waiting forevermore. Honestly I find it really hypocritical from people who have had every other childhood vaccine, take medication with known side effects, use hormonal contraception, drink alcohol, the list is endless.

[quote StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind]@Cailleach1 wrt 18-29 yr olds in the UK bring offered a different vaccine, I think the reasons are twofold; particularly in the youngest of that age group, late teens to early 20s, the benefits of being vaccinated at all aren't as great for someone in their 30s- they are far less at risk of dying of the virus. So if there is this tiny, minuscule risk of the blood clot, the risk for an 18 year old of coronavirus is just as small tbh.

The second reason is to ensure confidence and good uptake of the vaccine.

I agree completely with @StormzyinaTCup that those waiting for a 100% safe vaccine will be waiting forevermore. Honestly I find it really hypocritical from people who have had every other childhood vaccine, take medication with known side effects, use hormonal contraception, drink alcohol, the list is endless. [/quote]
I agree with this. Some statements hugely overestimate risk.