April 8 The Australian government announced on the 8th that it would put forward new vaccination recommendations for two coronavirus vaccines approved for use in the country, namely, for adults under the age of 50, which is recommended to be vaccinated against the vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company of the United States and the German Biotech Company, and for 50 People over the age of age still recommend vaccinations jointly developed by AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Company and Oxford University.
On the evening of the 8th, Australian Prime Minister Morrison and health officials released the news at a press conference in Canberra.
Paul Kelly, chief medical officer of the Australian Federal Government, said that the Australian Immunization Technical Advisory Group (ATAGI) has noticed the rare side effects of thrombosis accompanied by low platelets after vaccination with AstraZeneca, and made several recommendations: the first dose of adults under the age of 50 who have not been vaccinated with AstraZeneca vaccine should be the first choice.
Pfizer vaccine instead of AstraZeneca vaccine; the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine to adults under the age of 50 is premised on the benefit greater than the risk to the inoculated person; the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine without any serious side effects, but if thrombus occurs and is accompanied by platelets, A second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine should not be vaccinated.
One reason for making these recommendations is that people are at increased risk of COVID-19 complications as they age, and therefore the benefits of vaccination increase; as they age, the potential risk of rare side effects is relatively low.
The Australian Drug Administration approved the use of AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia in mid-February this year. The vaccine became the second coronavirus vaccine approved by Australian regulators, and was allowed to be used for people aged 18 and above. On February 21, Australia launched the coronavirus vaccination.
According to the Australian government, the country has booked a total of 53.8 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Except for the initial supply of the vaccine imported from overseas, about 50 million doses of the vaccine will be produced by domestic biotechnology companies in Australia.
