Australia to Administer AZ Vaccine Only to Those Aged 60 and Over

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The Australian government has decided to administer the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine only to those aged 60 and over, major foreign media reported on the 17th (local time).

Greg Hunt, Australia's Minister of Health, held a press conference on the same day to announce this restriction on the use of the AZ vaccine. This decision follows the deaths of two people due to the rare occurrence of blood clots after receiving the AZ vaccine in Australia. So far, 3.3 million people in Australia have been vaccinated with the AZ vaccine.

Minister Hunt explained, "This recommendation has been updated based on new evidence indicating an increased risk of a very rare condition (thrombocytopenic thrombosis) in the 50-59 age group."

The Australian government had previously regulated the use of the AZ vaccine to those aged 50 and over in April this year, as thrombocytopenic thrombosis suspected to be a side effect of the vaccine appeared mainly in relatively younger people.

Many European Union (EU) member countries have also restricted the administration of the AZ vaccine to younger age groups, although the age criteria vary.

In academia, there is a hypothesis that vaccines developed using viral vectors, such as the AZ and Janssen vaccines, are related to the blood clot side effects. In contrast, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were developed using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.

According to the international statistics site Worldometer, as of today, Australia's cumulative COVID-19 cases stand at 30,301, with a total of 910 deaths.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.