June 22, 2021: Australian doctors have reported a surge in the number of people cancelling their vaccine appointments, amid a new wave of caution over the AstraZeneca jab.
It comes after the government updated guidance last week to recommend only those aged over 60 get the shot, due to the risk of a rare blood-clotting syndrome. Under-60s have been advised to get the alternative Pfizer shot, but there are only limited supplies
This may seem remarkable to people from other nations who are still struggling with anxiety. But Australia is one of the few countries where the virus has never really caught on. So for many locals, even during new outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne, the risk of catching the virus is seen as less than the development of a rare blood clot. Vaccine hesitation has been a problem in Australia for months. But experts now fear that the government’s latest shortfall has hampered progress in vaccination in the country.
“All across the country people are cancelling appointments or asking about whether they should even have their second dose,” says Dr Katie Price, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. “It has definitely put a big barrier on the vaccine rollout,” she told the BBC. “We’re going to have to regroup and regain confidence in it, as it’s really important to keep the vaccination programme rolling out. We still have elderly people unvaccinated, and we’re seeing community transmission again.”
The Australian Vaccine Program began in February, and is currently open to people over 40. But so far only 3% adults have been vaccinated against the cirus, while about 25% have received the first shot. In comparison, it lags far behind many other Western countries, partly due to citizens’ reluctance to vaccinate, but partly due to the government’s failure to secure supplies. As of April, the government had relied on AstraZeneca as a vaccination mainstay.
But when news broke out of a rare blood clot associated with the thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome vaccine, the government changed its advice to tell people under the age of 50 to take a different vaccine. The catch was that Australia had only one more vaccine – a Pfizer shot – and it was in very small quantities. The government has promised adequate supply of Pfizer or other vaccines, such as Moderna and Novavax, by the last quarter of the year.
Last week, Australia’s Vaccine Safety Body’s decision to limit the use of AstraZeneca to 50 to 59-year-olds pushed another 2 million people into the Pfizer-dependent group. It also raised concerns among Australians who were left with AstraZeneca as their only vaccine option. Australia changed its mind last week as it found more people in its 50s. The risk is 3.1 cases per 100,000 doses for people under the age of 50. But experts say the risk is still very low, and the decision to limit vaccine use comes in the wake of fewer cases of covid in Australia.
Authorities are urging patients who have received their first jab to receive the second dose of their life, and the risk of clotting is 10 to 15 times lower. Statistics from the UK’s AstraZeneca Rollout show only 1.5 cases of clotting cases per million doses. But GPs, who are vaccinating clinics and questioning patients, say the figures are not enough to allay fears. Dr. Todd Cameron, a Melbourne GP who runs several clinics in the city, says people want the Pfizer vaccine instead.
Australians have canceled hundreds of bookings for Aster Zenica in recent days, although Melbourne has emerged from a lockdown due to a recent spate of events. “The problem is that the public perception is that there are two vaccines. One is good and the other is less good. And that’s why people are reasonably saying, ‘Well, why can’t I?’ “They’re also saying, ‘Why am I in a group I don’t have access to?'” The chances of being killed in a strike or in a car accident are statistically high, but he says patients have to compare Pfizer’s risk of AstraZeneca.
Australia still heavily relies on the AstraZeneca jab for its nationwide vaccination programme.
The government has also pledged to get a first dose of any vaccine available to everyone by the end of the year. But given this latest hit to AstraZeneca’s image, experts say it’s crucial now that the government rolls out a public health messaging campaign to achieve its goals.
GPs across the country have vented frustrations about the burden of having to be the main communicators about the vaccine. Typically, patients are still lobbing their first questions about the vaccine to GPs instead of going into clinics already informed by a public health campaign, they say.
“We feel like we’re having to be a little apologist for government policy, having to explain something where in the vast majority of cases people want something else,” says Dr Cameron. “There’s been a complete absence of effective public health messaging about the vaccine.”
The government has said an advertising campaign is in the works, but will not be rolled out until vaccine supply has been confirmed.
