Covid in Scotland: More people to offered alternative to AZ vaccine

Most adults in Scotland under the age of 40 will be given an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine due to a link with rare blood clots.

Last month it was announced about 700,000 people in Scotland under the age of 30 will be given alternatives to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Now the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has backed extending the move further.

This means those aged 30 to 39 years will be offered an alternative vaccine.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) medicines safety regulator said there has so far been 242 clotting cases and 49 deaths, with 28.5 million doses of the vaccine administered across the UK.

But the risk is slightly higher in younger age groups.

By contrast, immunisation is estimated to have already saved 10,000 lives in the UK.

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Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith said: "The clear scientific evidence and advice continues to be that the benefits of receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine far outweigh the risks for most age groups because it provides protection against the harm from Covid-19.

"The Scottish government will continue to follow the advice from the JCVI, and make full use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for all adults aged 30-39, without underlying health conditions, while continuing to use Oxford-AstraZeneca when it is appropriate to do so.

"The JCVI has made clear that the new advice for this age group is based on the current low prevalence of the virus and the availability of alternatives to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine."

Dr Smith said that "supplies permitting" it is still expected that a first vaccine will be offered to all adults in Scotland by the end of July.

The Scottish government said the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will continue to be offered in some settings because of the more complicated storage and distribution demands of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been linked to distinctive, but rare, blood clots that also appear with low levels of platelets (which help clots form) in the blood.

The risk of a clot is roughly one in 100,000 for people in their 40s, but rises to one in 60,000 for people in their 30s. Two in a million people in their 40s died rising to four per million people in their 30s.

At the same time, the risks of developing severe Covid, if you catch the virus, fall in younger age groups.

Rates under control

Prof Wei Shen Lim, from the JCVI, said they were putting "a high priority on safety" and he expected the move would "serve to boost confidence" in the vaccination programme.

He added: "As Covid-19 rates continue to come under control, we are advising that adults aged 18- 39 years with no underlying health conditions are offered an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, if available, and if it does not cause delays in having the vaccine."

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