Vaccination schedule being speeded up
The vaccination program is being speeded up, with people as young as 30 able to book their shots starting the Tuesday before Easter, April 27.
The platform for 55-59-year-olds without serious underlying diseases opened earlier this week and there were 138,000 bookings over the first two days.
The fact that the youngest will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine makes officials fearful that they may refuse to do so, spooked by news of unnecessary complications, such as allergic reactions and blood clot issues. A not insignificant number of appointments for people to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine have been canceled. Officials are at pains to point out that the incidence of complications is very small.
Globally, over 905 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered so far. The majority of vaccinated people, 65-75 percent, show mild symptoms, especially after the second shot, such as headaches, muscle and joint pains and fever. These symptoms may last a few days before they subside.
Serious complications, such as allergic reactions and blood clots, are very rare: 1.3 to 2 cases of allergic reaction per million vaccinations. In the UK, where 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were administered, there were 79 cases of blood clots, 19 of them fatal.
Most experts noted that the benefits of the vaccines far outweigh the dangers and similar complications are more usual in long-established medicines such as contraceptive pills, which can be 13-20 times more dangerous.
