Are you 40? Will you be comfortable taking AZ?

[MybodyNochoice]

I have name changed for this. Not a troll or anti vaxxer.
But very scared of the vaccine and Covid- so Rock/hard place

I turned 40 last month / I feel scared about taking this vaccine but according to the guidelines I’m ‘safe’? How safe am I from being 39 to 40?

I'm 42 and had my first AZ jab a few weeks ago. I am so relieved to have had at least one dose. Who wants actual covid?! Looking forward to my second. I did feel slightly ill with it but then I've known lots of people be fine.

Not dropped dead!

I’m 40 - I deliberately made an appointment at a centre doing Pfizer and Moderna because I didn’t want AZ.

Sounds like a I’ll be playing Russian Roulette - take the jab - blood clot- possible death

Don't be ridiculous. You have a one in six chance of certain death playing Russian roulette.

What are the chances of death from a blood clot following the jab?

I'm 40 and have asthma so was part of Group 6. I am also fat. I had my first AZ at the end of March and side effects were quite rough and my period was very late but no ill effects. I weighed the risk of a clot against the risks to me from getting covid as a fat asthmatic and decided it was the better choice. I was at a much higher risk of a clot after having my babies. I made an assessment with what knowledge was available and am happy with it.

I believe in Bolton 12 of the 18 people in hospital have not had any jabs but are eligible. 5 have only had 1 and one person has had both.

I am 40 and turned down AZ last weekend as the guidance against giving it to under 40s had only come in that Friday so I wanted some time to think. I've just been back to the same place and had Pfizer.

I'm 40 and getting jabbed today - no idea which one it will be and I have no concerns over AZ

I took the contraceptive pill for years and my risk of clots then was INSANELY higher than with AZ yet I still accepted that

And the risk of clots if you actually get covid - even higher than that.

I wish the government hadn't pandered to the wailing about it and instead robustly defended it explaining exactly why.

I’m sure others have said this but it isn’t vaccine safety that changes as a person gets younger, it is the risk vs benefit. The vaccine IS safe, with some associated small risks. That’s why it has been approved for use.

The risk from the vaccine is extremely small. Younger people also have a low risk from Covid. As you age, the balance of risk shifts so that Covid becomes far more of a risk than vaccine.

Lots of people below 30 - healthcare and other frontline professionals - have had the AZ before the guidance changed.

I do get it though - being pregnant and being told not to have the vaccine and then to have it - and being told it is my decision is not making me feel very confident about the right course of action. Nor am I clear on how I even access the recommended vaccine.

The narrative hasn’t been very clear at all.

I'm mid-40s and had my first AZ dose (with some misgivings) about 6 weeks ago, just before the risk of blood clots was revealed. I have a suspected autoimmune disease and low platelets and TBH I'm worried about having the next dose even though I'm not officially at risk from it. I had flu-like symptoms and 2 weeks of horrible headaches after the first dose – if I'd known about the blood clot/headache warnings at the time I would definitely have been alarmed!

@BlackInk this us what scares me. I don’t want to rush to the a&e with every headache after the vaccine and take up their time, but I will be suffering for 28 days? With ever change in my body...

Sorry I'm not really following the age limits etc. How to old do you have to be to get AZ, 40?

I'm mid-40s and happy to have AZ.

@Orangebug I’m struggling with a lot around the communication around this but the guidance is anyone below 40 should be offered alternative to AZ

So in my case in March I would get an alternative but I turned 40 in April so now I can have AZ? So it’s deemed ‘safe’ for me now

Sorry my answer was for @wasthataburp

I'm 44 and had the AstraZeneca jab at the end of March, when the clot thing wasn't well known about. Even if I'd known, the risk is incredibly low and wouldn't have worried me. I take far riskier medications and do far riskier things all the time without a thought.

And the risks of getting Covid are very clear to me. Even a mild case has left a 35yo friend of mine off work for a year, exhausted, neurological issues, severe depression and guilt that she can't look after her own children as she's unwell. I know people who have died of it. I wouldn't avoid the jab due to a small risk.

35 and I'm doubled vaccinated with AZ. The risk of blood clots is lower than the pill, which I took for several years with no qualms.

[quote MybodyNochoice]@Orangebug I’m struggling with a lot around the communication around this but the guidance is anyone below 40 should be offered alternative to AZ

So in my case in March I would get an alternative but I turned 40 in April so now I can have AZ? So it’s deemed ‘safe’ for me now[/quote]
yes, because they want them to take a vaccine and they know that some people are freaking out and wont have it otherwise. Its not because its unsafe, its just to increase uptake.

Same reason as being able to get 3 single vaccines instead of MMR is sometimes offered, except this is much more urgent. Its not because the MMR isnt safe. We all need to be vaccinated, yet they cant force people, so they are increasing the options.

The rate of blood clots with AZ is something like 0.004%. The risk of blood clots from covid 19 itself is closer to 16%

@MybodyNochoice

Sorry my answer was for *@wasthataburp*

Thanks!

I’m 40 and had my first AZ about four weeks ago (they were running slightly ahead at my GP). Never crossed my mind not to once I’d read the literature...there are far riskier things I do every day (like get into a car or walk alongside a busy road in town or...). I also was on the pill for years and have had two pregnancies (probably the riskiest thing for my health that I’ll ever do).

Just an idea but you could try taking fish oil supplement as it's a blood thinner. I understand blood clots are treated by giving blood thinners.

I've been taking fish oil supplement for years and bruise easily as a result, but now feel it's an additional layer of safety with the vaccine. Just found out recently that I can get only Pfizer anyway as I'm under 40. 🤷‍♀️

@NinaNina83 no that won't help and may actually make things worse -- these vaccine related clots are specifically caused by low platelets, not sticky blood that needs to be thinned. I agree that things like aspirin would be advised usually for someone susceptible to blood clots like DVT but aspirin (and I suppose therefore this) have been specifically advised against for after the vaccine.

but even so, the risks are incredibly low, and like any medicine/treatment/vaccine, you are weighing up the pros and cons of the medicine vs the illness. Not the medicine vs staying perfectly healthy

43yrs old, had 1st AZ last week. Overjoyed to be vaccinated.

I have my vaccination this week and I will be 40 next month and I want the Phizer jag.

I'm 35 and had AZ, had it before the clot issue arose but even after that still wasn't worried, now had my second dose and just grateful to be fully vaccinated

I'm 45 - happily accepted AZ. DH is 42 he's Wyeth same. Ds is 18 (group 4) had AZ. I asked DD who is almost 20 and studying Pharmacology at Kings - when asked if she'd have AZ if offered it her answer was a resounding "yes"!