AstraZeneca urged by ATAGI for adults in NSW

All adults in Greater Sydney should “strongly consider” getting vaccinated with any available vaccine, including AstraZeneca, Australia’s expert vaccines body says. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) said the new advice was being issued because of the increasing risk of COVID-19 in the city, and emerging data on the severity of the Delta strain.

The group urged all adults in Greater Sydney to consider the benefits of being vaccinated sooner, rather than waiting for alternative vaccines to be made available. It said the benefits of any available vaccine outweighed any risk of rare side effects associated with AstraZeneca.

The New South Wales COVID crisis deepened on Saturday, with a record 163 new infections, as Health Minister Brad Hazzard pleaded for other states to make their Pfizer shots available to combat the Sydney outbreak.

/ NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard announces 163 new COVID-19 cases in NSW on Saturday.

For those outside Sydney, ATAGI is still advising that Pfizer is the preferred vaccine for people under the age of 60. eputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said the worsening situation in Sydney had brought on the change.

“The advice from ATAGI is all individuals aged 18 years and above in Greater Sydney, including adults under 60 years of age, should strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine, including AstraZeneca,”

he said. “This is on the basis of the increasing risk of COVID-19, and ongoing constraints of supply of the Pfizer vaccine.”

/ ATAGI Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd

Professor Kidd said there was evidence the Delta strain was having a more serious impact on younger people than previous variants.