The Government’s Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunization said this week that people aged 18 to 29 who are not at high risk for Covid should have the option of having an alternative vaccine for the AstraZeneca vaccine, if one in their environment is available. This follows the collection of evidence linking the jab to rare blood clots, although there is no definitive cause yet. The move has raised fears that confidence in the widely used AstraZeneca vaccine will be lost, at a time when the UK is coming out of the closure.
The observer’s science editor, Robin McKie, tell Anushka Asthana that the risks of blood clots are still incredibly low: current evidence puts the risk at about one in every 250,000 shots. But since there are other vaccines to offer, he says this warning makes sense.
More than 30 million people have received at least one dose of vaccination in the UK, and a study by Imperial College researchers suggests breaking the link between Covid-19 and deaths. But other studies suggest a worse third wave of the virus should the vaccination rate drop.
Photo: Matthias Schräder / AP
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