UK To Offer AstraZeneca Alternative To Under-30s Over Blood Clot Concerns

"Adults who are aged 18 to 29 years old who do not have an underlying health condition... should be offered an alternative Covid-19 vaccine in preference to the AstraZeneca vaccine," Wei Shen Lim of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said at a press conference.

A government committee in the UK advising on coronavirus vaccinations has said people under the age of 30 should be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine, after 19 people died in the country from rare blood clots after receiving the jab. Altogether, 79 such cases have been reported in the country. "Adults who are aged 18 to 29 years old who do not have an underlying health condition... should be offered an alternative Covid-19 vaccine in preference to the AstraZeneca vaccine, where such an alternative vaccine is available," Wei Shen Lim of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said at a press conference. The AstraZeneca vaccine is being manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute under the name of "Covishield". It is one of the two vaccines approved by India's drug regulator in January this year. The Oxford University, which developed the vaccine in collaboration with the pharma major, has said they are looking into the connection between the vaccine and the fatal condition, which was earlier reported in other European nations.