Top Australian Covid professor issues a brutal message to antivaxxers as AstraZeneca vaccine is removed worldwide due to side effects

AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine has been withdrawn worldwide after admitting it causes adverse side effects, but an Australian expert said fears over the vaccine caused more deaths than it saved.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Authority stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine in April 2023 and the Anglo-Swedish producer withdrew it globally on Tuesday.

Just over a week ago, AstraZeneca admitted that its vaccine, sold as Vaxzevria, can cause fatal blood clots and low platelet counts.

“Overall the safety profile is not as high as Pfizer due to clotting, but we need to keep this in perspective,” Professor Peter Collignon told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

‘For women aged 30 to 50, there is a 1 in 40,000 chance of dying from taking the AstraZeneca vaccine, but the overall death rate from taking it is 1 in 100,000.’

Researchers believe the rare side effect occurs because the modified cold virus lurking in the jab has an adverse effect on platelets in the blood, causing clotting.

Professor Collignon, who has been one of Australia’s most trusted voices during the Covid crisis, pointed out that some commonly available drugs, such as aspirin, have similar mortality rates.

He said it was impossible to know the full potential side effects of taking the AstraZeneca vaccine before it hit the market.

‘You cannot test 100,000 in one trial. “That’s why it’s important to monitor after a drug becomes available,” he said.

“The side effect is real. We need to know these things, but it is a very rare side effect.”

Professor Collignon said if an 80-year-old got Covid at the height of the pandemic he had a 1 in 10 chance of dying, but that would have been 1 in 100,000 if he had taken the AstraZeneca. vaccine’.

He said people were risking their health during the pandemic by not taking the AstraZeneca vaccine even though it was available.

“People waiting for the Pfizer vaccine caused a few hundred more deaths in Australia than we needed because of the negative publicity,” said Prof Collignon, who teaches at the Australian National University’s medical school.

The acknowledgment of AstraZeneca’s link to blood clots came via court documents in a British class-action lawsuit seeking £100 million for dozens of victims of the side effects.

The request to withdraw the vaccine was submitted on March 5 and came into effect on May 7.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has provisionally approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in Australia for people aged 18 and over as a base course from February 15, 2021 and as a booster from February 8, 2022.

During that time, Pfizer and Moderna supplied Covid vaccines to Australia that were recommended over the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In June 2021, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI) advised Australians over the age of 60 to avoid taking Vaxzevria.

Although Australians have not been given Vaxzevria since the suspension, it remained provisionally approved by the Department of Health.

The last batch in Australia reportedly expired on March 21, 2023.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Authority stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine in April 2023 (pictured), and the Anglo-Swedish producer withdrew it globally on Tuesday

Professor Peter Collignon (pictured) said people were risking their health during the pandemic by not taking the AstraZeneca vaccine even though it was available

The ATAGI recommended that the fatal blood clotting rate was about 3.1 per 100,000 for people over 50 years of age and 1.8 per 100,000 for people under 50 years of age.

In September 2021, then Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Australians over 60 to get the AstraZeneca vaccine instead of waiting for Pfizer doses.

“I encourage everyone, especially Australians over 60, to get vaccinated,” he said.

‘Getting vaccinated can save your life, protect your family and mean a return to a more normal life with family and friends and seeing the grandchildren.’