5 Australian blood clot cases linked to AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Canberra: Australia’s medical regulator has linked five new cases of blood clotting to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

John Skerritt, head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, on Thursday announced that five recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine have developed clotting and low platelets.

The patients included two men in their 70s, one in 60s, and two women in their 50s and 60s.

“You’ll notice that all of those people... are over 50, but if you step back and think about who is now getting the AstraZeneca vaccine, it is only with a few rare exceptions it is only people over 50,” Skerritt told reporters.

“So it is obvious that future cases will be in the over 50s.”

It takes the number of confirmed cases of the rare clotting disorder in Australia to 11 since the start of the country’s vaccine rollout.

Skerritt said that for every 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines administered in Australia the TGA receives between six and seven reports of adverse reactions.

“These are people who have felt unwell or have presented to a doctor or hospital after being vaccinated,” he said.

As of Thursday afternoon there had been 2.47 million vaccine doses administered in Australia.

The government endorsed a new vaccine rollout plan in April that will fast-track vaccinations for over 50s “by better utilizing the available stock of AstraZeneca doses” and offer the Pfizer vaccine to people under 50 years. (UNI)