Source : PortMac.News | Independent :
Source : PortMac.News | Independent | News Story:
News Story Summary:
The Therapeutic Goods Administration says five new Australian cases of a rare blood clotting disorder are linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
There have been 11 cases of blood clotting since the start of the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout.
Professor John Skerritt from the TGA said since last week, there have been five new cases of clotting and low platelets that are believed likely to be linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
They are:
* 74-year-old man
* 51-year-old woman in Victoria
* 66-year-old man in Queensland
* 64-year-old woman from WA
* 70-year-old man from Tasmania
"You'll notice that all of those people are over 50, but if you stop back and think about who is now getting the AstraZeneca vaccine, it is only with a few rare exceptions it is only people over 50," Professor Skerritt said.
"So it is obvious that future cases will be in the over 50s, and remember the early results globally showed that the prevalence of this rare side effect was much more common this people under 50 but it wasn't unknown in people over 50.
"So we're not surprised with the results."
Professor Skerritt said it takes the total number of cases to 11 since vaccinations started.
"The evidence from TGA and the advice from ATAGI, the advisors to governments, that the benefits of this vaccine for the over 50s still very significantly exceeds the risks," he said.