Very high levels of protection against Delta AstraZeneca backs new ATAGI advice on jab

Global pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca has welcomed new guidance from Australia’s vaccine advisory group that younger Sydneysiders should strongly consider taking its coronavirus jab, declaring its product is a key weapon in the fight against the Delta variant.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group (ATAGI) issued a statement on Saturday advising that all adults in the Greater Sydney area should “should strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine” including AstraZeneca’s. This was on the basis of an increasing risk of COVID-19 and supply constraints on the Pfizer vaccine.

Locally made doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine at CSL’s Parkville facility in Melbourne.Credit:Eddie Jim

In a rare incursion into Australia’s vaccine policy debate, the British-Swedish pharmaceuticals giant said it supported the new medical advice.

“Regulatory authorities around the world have stated that the benefit of using our vaccine significantly outweigh the risks across all adult age groups, and this has been reiterated by ATAGI and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), particularly in the context of the Delta outbreaks,” a spokeswoman for AstraZeneca Australia said this morning.

AstraZeneca, which has contracts with the federal government and CSL for CSL to make 50 million doses of the vaccine onshore, has been forced to defend the safety of its product over recent months after ATAGI issued guidance advising it was not the preferred vaccine for younger Australians due to risks of very rare blood clots.

However, Australia’s vaccine advisory group on Saturday highlighted that “in a large outbreak, the benefits of the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca are greater than the risk of rare side effects for all age groups”.

New South Wales recorded 141 cases of the virus on Sunday.

“In the context of the current risk of COVID-19 in NSW and with the ongoing constraints on Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine supplies, all adults in greater Sydney should strongly consider the benefits of earlier protection with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca rather than waiting for alternative vaccines,” ATAGI said.

AstraZeneca has always maintained it respected the opinions of ATAGI and the Therapeutic Goods Administration, but has been keen to highlight that the age guidance put on its vaccine in Australia was done in a setting of low or no community transmission of the virus.

The company highlighted on Monday that recently published data indicated its vaccine is effective in protecting recipients from the Delta variant of the virus, which is currently circulating in Australia.

“Real-world evidence published by Public Health England demonstrates that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine maintains very high levels of protection against the Delta variant. In less than 12 months, more than 750 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been released for supply to more than 170 countries,” a spokeswoman said.

“Our vaccine continues to be an important tool in overcoming the COVID-19 global health emergency, underpinned by our commitment to provide broad and equitable access, at no profit during the pandemic.”

More than 40 million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine are still expected to arrive in Australia this year, as well as 85 million booster shots in 2022 and 2023.

Emma Koehn reports on healthcare companies for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. She is based in Melbourne.

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