17 June 2021

Updated ATAGI recommendations on the use of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca

The Australian Government today accepted new advice provided by the Australian Technical Advisory Group (ATAGI) on the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in response to new vaccine safety concerns.

ATAGI recommends the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine (Comirnaty) as the preferred vaccine for those aged 16 to under 60 years.

This updates the previous preferential recommendation for Comirnaty over COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca in those aged 16 to under 50 years.

The recommendation is revised due to a higher risk and observed severity of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) related to the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine observed in Australia in the 50-59 year old age group than reported internationally and initially estimated in Australia.

For those aged 60 years and above, the individual benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine are greater than in younger people. The risks of severe outcomes with COVID-19 increase with age and are particularly high in older unvaccinated individuals. The benefit of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca outweighs the risk of TTS in this age group and underpins its ongoing use in this age group.

People of any age without contraindications who have had their first dose of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca without any serious adverse events should receive a second dose of the same vaccine. This is supported by data indicating a substantially lower rate of TTS following a second COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca dose in the United Kingdom (UK).

You can read the full ATAGI advice online, media release from the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, and statement from Professor Paul Kelly, Australian Government Chief Medical Officer.

All first dose clinics have been completed in the 2,566 residential aged care facilities receiving COVID-19 vaccination clinics (Pfizer) through the Commonwealth’s vaccine roll out in aged care. Of those, second dose clinics have been completed in 2,478 facilities. There is no change to the completion of the remaining second dose clinics.

The current dose policy enables a first dose Pfizer vaccine to be administered at a facility’s second dose clinic to workers regardless of their age, where doses are available. Workers that receive a first dose this way must agree to take responsibility for obtaining their second dose from an alternative location.

Aged care workers aged 50-59 who are yet to receive a first dose vaccination will now be offered a Pfizer vaccine through the existing Pfizer vaccination pathways for people aged under 50, including state and territory run vaccination clinics and Commonwealth vaccination clinics.

The Department is in the process of updating the COVID-19 eligibility checker on the health.gov.au website and resources for the aged care sector. Thank you for your patience while this is undertaken.

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