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by yyy888sss 1788 days ago
The government completely messed up the messaging for the Astra Zeneca vaccine, a lot of people think it is very risky due to the reports of blood clotting (which are actually lower than for most common medicines!!). It doesn't matter though because even the AZ vaccine is hard to get, you need to be over 40 or have medical reasons and even then you need an appointment. EDIT: And you can't even leave the country without government permission so its not like you can fly a country with vaccine availability to get it.
4 comments
ecdavis 1788 days ago
ATAGI is an independent government body and they're pretty clear in their advice that the benefits of AZ only outweigh the risks for people over 60. Morrison has been literally pleading with them to change their advice but so far they're holding firm.

https://www.health.gov.au/news/atagi-statement-on-revised-re...

The government has messed up vaccine availability.

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em500 1788 days ago
Sure, for any individual the risk of the AZ side effect (thrombosis+thrombocytopenia) is low (3 per 100,000 for the <50 age group [1]). But in Australia, the risk of catching COVID and dying is/was even lower, especially for the <50 age group (6 deaths out of 16 million so far).

I know I'm ignoring many of the nuances here (long COVID, mortality risk of thrombocytopenia, externalities of higher vaccination rates), but it's clearly not a slam dunk to just jab everyone in in Australia with AZ if they're not supply constrained. Many European nations came to a similar conclusion (banning AZ for the younger age groups) even when at much higher COVID incidence rates.

[1] https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-...

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PinkMilkshake 1788 days ago
Many of my friends and I are in our 30s and got the AZ. Might have to doctor shop a bit, some still seem to be operating on older recommendations.

Also, I went to move my second dose to 4 weeks as recommended by the ATAGI(Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation), but the doctors said the recommendation they got was 6 weeks minimum.

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trissylegs 1788 days ago
In NSW you don't need a Medical reason to get AZ but you still need a GP note. I think... I can't find consistent information sources. But the advice is "Just get AZ if you dont have existing blood clotting issues". But how to actually get it is left as a exercise for the reader.
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robbiep 1788 days ago
As of Wednesday you don’t need a gp consult prior to AZ.

Also, should be pointed out that it is not thrombophilias in general but immune thrombophilias that are of concern for AZ (ie factor V lieden and others are fine per ATAGI advice which is in line with the pathophysiology as I understand it)

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