Many doctors in Australia have been reporting a surge in the number of people canceling their vaccine appointment due to caution over the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, according to BBC.
Last week, the Australian health officials updated guidance to recommend the vaccine for only those who are aged 60 and above, due to the risk of a rare blood-clotting syndrome.
They recommended people under 60s to get the alternative Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, of which there are limited supplies.
Australia is one of the few countries where the coronavirus has never truly taken hold, according to BBC. Therefore, for many residents, even in Sydney and Melbourne, the risk of catching the infection is considered lower than developing a rare blood clot.
In Australia, vaccine hesitancy is an ongoing issue, and experts believe the government’s latest downgrade has hindered the country’s vaccination progress.
Dr. Karen Price, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, said, “All across the country people are canceling appointments or asking about whether they should even have their second dose. It has definitely put a big barrier on the vaccine rollout.”
She told BBC, “We’re going to have to regroup and regain confidence in it, as it’s really important to keep the vaccination program rolling out. We still have elderly people unvaccinated, and we’re seeing community transmission again.”
Until April, the Australian government had relied upon the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, but when reports of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome emerged, the government advised people under 50 to take a different vaccine.
However, the problem is Australia has significantly smaller quantities of Pfizer-BioNTech. The government has announced that there will be enough supplies of Pfizer or other vaccines, such as Moderna and Novavax, by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, public health officials have been urging patients who have gotten their first dose to stick to the course and get their second dose, noting that the blood clotting risk is 10 to 15 times lower.
However, doctors who are administering the vaccine at clinics say that current statistics are not enough to assuage fears.
Dr. Todd Cameron, a Melbourne-based general practitioner, said people want the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine instead of AstraZeneca’s jab.
He said, “The problem is that there’s a public perception that there are two vaccines – the good one and the less good one and so people are reasonably saying, ‘Well why can’t I have the good one?’ They’re also saying ‘Why am I in the group that doesn’t have access?’”
