Australia limits use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to people over 60

Medical workers administer tests at the Bondi Beach drive-through coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing centre in the wake of new positive cases in Sydney, Australia

Australia will recommend only people over 60 receive AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, the country's Minister for Health Greg Hunt said on Thursday, following a spate of blood clots in those who have received the inoculation. Australia has administered 3.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and it has been linked to 60 cases of blood clots, the government has said. So far, two people have died, which Hunt said has driven the policy shift. ‘The government places safety above all else,’ Hunt told reporters in Canberra. ‘This updated advice received today is based on new evidence demonstrating a higher risk for the very rare (thrombocytopenia syndrome) condition in the 50-59 year-old age group.’