AstraZeneca: Infectious diseases expert puts blood clot risk into perspective
An infectious diseases expert has urged Australians to get the AstraZeneca jab if they’re eligible.
All over 50s are now able to receive the vaccine, with phase 2A of the rollout beginning today.
Director of infectious diseases at Mater Health Services, Associate Professor Paul Griffin, says the risk of rare blood clotting linked to the jab is “really, really low”.
“We do still think it’s around four to six per million,” he told Neil Mitchell.
For comparison, the risk of death from general anaesthetic is about one-in-57,000.
Associate Professor Griffin urged Australians to consider the cost of not getting the jab.
“There’s also a huge risk of not vaccinating. What that means is we can’t look at reopening, we can’t look at reopening, we need snap lockdowns,” he said.
“That’s a very significant risk that costs a lot of money and a lot of people’s livelihoods.
“People need to consider that the quicker we get everybody vaccinated, the quicker we at least take a small step back towards where we were before.”
Press PLAY below for more from Associate Professor Griffin on the AstraZeneca jab
‘As busy as it’s been’: AstraZeneca vaccine now available for all over 50s