Unvaccinated patients younger than 40 years of age should be offered an alternative to the Oxford/AZ vaccine

The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation has proclaimed that unvaccinated adults, with no underlying health conditions, between 18-39 years, should be granted an alternative to the Oxford and AstraZeneca partnered jab where feasible.

Following concerns around rare incidences of low platelet counts and blood clots in patients who had received their initial dose of the vaccine, adults aged under thirty years of age should be allowed an alternative to the Oxford and AstraZeneca partnered vaccine.

COVID-19 chair for the JCVI, Wei Shen Lim, stated: “Safety remains our number one priority. We have continued to assess the benefit-risk balance of COVID-19 vaccines in light of UK infection rates and the latest information from the MHRA on the extremely rare event of blood clots and low platelet counts following vaccination. As COVID-19 rates continue to come under control, we are advising that adults aged eighteen to thirty-nine years with no underlying health conditions are offered an alternative to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, if available and if it does not cause delays in having the vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccines have already saved thousands of lives and the benefit for the majority of the population is clear, if you are offered the vaccine, you should take it.”