Under 40 will be offered an alternative vaccine

[CovidHalloween]

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/covid-vaccine-astrazeneca-blood-clots-cases-latest-b1842455.html

They made sure they waited until all 40s have been jabbed until they released this piece of news.

I’m still grateful for my jab nevertheless.
In other news, many cluster of Indian variant are scattered across the country and about to become a variant of concern, but of course they buried this news because its Election Day today. I’m fed up of this mess and this reactive nonsense. Why not be proactive and make sure our border defences were more robust. It’s like I told you so?! Who would have guessed?!

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/06/new-concerns-indian-covid-variant-clusters-found-across-england-ongoing-risk-high

@mayonegg But they are not being honest with the risk. Especially the age related risk. And if you consider the risk of dying of Covid at 21 is less than dying from side effects of the vaccine why on earth would they take it?

Still nothing on BBC about this..

They all come with risks but each offer a good level of protection. Lets just be greatful we have vaccines at all.

@halloweenrainbow But people are dying from the vaccine when their personal risk of covid was lower that the risk of the vaccine. How is this OK? How can it just be shrugged off...

I don’t think people should be sacrificed so that the rest of the country can get to the pub sooner. Just stop AZ and use another vaccine.

@Tryingtryingandtrying

So in the two weeks up to 28th April 90 people of all ages died from this side effect. I am really shocked. When it was Covid at this number, the people who were dying were front page news

Yup, the mind boggles.

@Tryingtryingandtrying

So in the two weeks up to 28th April 90 people of all ages died from this side effect. I am really shocked. When it was Covid at this number, the people who were dying were front page news

Actually no, they didn’t die. In the past two reported weeks, 17 people died from these clots. But it’s still concerning.

When does this start? I'm due my 2nd az tomorrow, and really would rather have it.

@mayonegg

I think at this point they need to open up the AZ vaccine slots for anyone who wants them, at their own risk. I’m sure there would be huge uptake even in the higher vaccine risk younger age groups, then they can offer the rest of us who are wary of the AZ an alternative whether over or under 40.

Agreed.

@RevolutionRadio

When does this start? I'm due my 2nd az tomorrow, and really would rather have it.

Second doses are going ahead as normal as far as I can see

[quote Tryingtryingandtrying]@halloweenrainbow But people are dying from the vaccine when their personal risk of covid was lower that the risk of the vaccine. How is this OK? How can it just be shrugged off...[/quote]
That's why information and choice is important. The way I think of it is that I may not be high risk of Covid now but any other illness, accident, disease or infection could change that. Covid can be a nasty illness even if you don’t actually die.

@halloweenrainbow But if you had a fatal response to the vaccine you wont get Long Covid

@mayonegg

I think at this point they need to open up the AZ vaccine slots for anyone who wants them, at their own risk. I’m sure there would be huge uptake even in the higher vaccine risk younger age groups, then they can offer the rest of us who are wary of the AZ an alternative whether over or under 40.

I agree with this. There are a huge number of us (I'm 31) in my age bracket that still would happily take AZ we are just sat around waiting for it to be offered! This would use up the AZ supplies by those who actually are happy to take it and accept risks, and then those other vaccine doses can be redistributed to others who have concerns.

Also, just to be clear... the article I read in the Times mentioned under 40s will be offered an alternative. However, they are still free to accept AZ if they want to (e.g., if AZ means they get jabbed quicker a lot will still opt for AZ rather than try and wait for alternatives).

I am 41 next month and am going for my first jab on Sunday. This news has concerned me. I spoke to a friend who's a GP this morning and his view was that if I was happy to go for the jab when I booked in (which I was) then this shouldn't change anything. I'm still gonna go but still feel a bit worried about it now altho in my rational head I know that this announcement doesn't actually change my risk as an individual. It's just the fact that I'm so annoyingly close to the age range which will get a choice (ie less than a year).

[quote Tryingtryingandtrying]@halloweenrainbow But if you had a fatal response to the vaccine you wont get Long Covid[/quote]
But I didn't, thankfully, and now I shouldn't have to worry about either much at all. These are not easy decisions. Interesting debate would be the risk/benefit of second dose in those already low risk with some coverage from 1 dose?

So much overreaction. I’m 37 and haven’t had the jab so this news benefits me, but if, once my age group is released, there is a long wait for moderna/pfizer (3weeks etc) I hope there is still the choice to have AZ. My priority is to get vaccinated, all vaccines come with a risk, all medications actually, people would not have batted an eyelid if these issues had been reported over several years. Maybe this is heralding a change though, maybe people will start to take an interest in what they put in their bodies

I spoke to a friend who's a GP this morning and his view was that if I was happy to go for the jab when I booked in (which I was) then this shouldn't change anything.

That’s such a weird thing for the GP to say. Imagine you booked a table at a restaurant and then some new information came out about the restaurant - like say a small number of people had died eating there - would you really go ahead because ‘You were happy to book at the time?!’ False equivalence I know because a restaurant doesn’t also come with a potential health benefit but I’m saying that the decisions people make change according to the information they have. I. February 2019 we shook hands. Now we don’t. Covid was present in both cases but now we know more we act differently.

The point he was making is that the change in guidance doesn't alter my risk profile. If I'm gonna have an adverse reaction, I'll do so regardless of the change in guidance.

@RoseWineTime

get a grip people - we are incredibly lucky to have access to all of these vaccines. So far real world studies have shown AZ to be equally effective as Pfizer.

It's not, it's slightly less efficacious than the base variant and significantly less efficacious against some of the strains. It's worse than useless against the SA variant as the meagre protection it offers (10% against mild to moderate disease) will be outweighed by the change in behaviour of the vaccinated.

BBC now reporting the under 40s news in the daily live feed.

The JCVI press conference is expected at midday according to a journalist on Twitter.

[quote Tryingtryingandtrying]@shulte It was 41 in week up 21st April and 49 week up to 28th April. This is the official published numbers. They were 15 in the 50s bracket in one week alone.[/quote]
No. So far in the UK, 49 people have died of these blood clots all in all. That’s between December and 28 April. Not per week. The yellow card report gives you the total to date each time it’s published, if you follow it each week, you can work out the weekly rates.