France asks people under 55 who got AZ vaccine to get different 2nd dose

Online desk:  French health officials said Friday that people under 55 who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine should get other vaccines for their second shot because of an extremely rare risk of a blood clotting disorder, reports AP.

Germany is expected to recommend a similar booster dose strategy for people under age 60. The World Health Organization says it’s too early to know whether to recommend such vaccine mixing, however, and the European Medicines Agency hasn’t advised putting any age restrictions on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

French authorities said the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company’s vaccine remains central to its vaccination plan strategy, and they urged older populations to keep taking it as France’s hospitals battle another surge in Covid-19 patients.

“It’s an effective vaccine,” Dominique Le Guludec, president of France’s High Authority for Health, told reporters. “If we want to win the battle against the virus, we must use all weapons at our disposition.”

Several European countries decided in recent weeks to limit their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to older people because of strengthening evidence the vaccine may be linked to rare blood clots in younger populations.