Health Ministry defends AstraZeneca offer to under-40s

THE Health Ministry is pushing ahead with the roll-out of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to under-40s in North Cyprus, despite concerns over extremely rare but potentially fatal blood clots among younger adults.

On Wednesday the age limit for receiving the AstraZeneca jab was lowered from 40 to 35. The jab is being offered at hospitals and health centres around the TRNC without the need to book an appointment. Duriye Deren Oygar, Health Ministry undersecretary and head of the Communicable Diseases High Committee, has defended the move.

She said in an interview on Wednesday that no negative side effects from AstraZeneca have been reported so far in the TRNC.

Health workers have been told to record and report any complaints of side effects, she said, adding that there are plans to start offering AstraZeneca to over-30s.

“Approximately 22 per cent of the population has been inoculated,” she said.

“The delivery of vaccines is expected to become more intense and a relaxation in terms of lifted restrictions might be observed once 60 per cent of the population is inoculated.”

In the UK, people under 40 without underlying health conditions are being offered alternative Covid jabs “where available and only if this does not cause substantial delays in being vaccinated”.

On Wednesday health authorities in South Cyprus announced they would stop offering first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to under-50s.

Those who have already received the first jab of Astra-Zeneca are still advised to have their second dose provided they did not experience any serious side effects from the first one.

The announcement came following the death last weekend in South Cyprus of a 39-year-old British woman who had a thrombotic episode. The death of the woman, who died 10 days after receiving her first Astra-Zeneca jab, is being investigated to establish if it was caused by the vaccine.

Cyprus Turkish Medical Association head Dr Özlem Gürkut accused the government of failing to “develop communication channels” for members of the public to report side effects.

“The EMA (European Medicines Agency) suggests that countries consider local factors such as the risk posed by the pandemic,” she said.

“If the pandemic is so widespread people will die from it, then it makes sense to face the risk of side effects. . . According to statements made by AstraZeneca and the EMA, the risk [of blood clots] is greatest in women under 55, although side effects are seen in men too . . . The public should be told in what situations they should go to hospital.”