Australia wants to change AstraZeneca advice

An inmate receives a dose of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine a correctional centre in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

Australia's prime minister has said he's urging the government's adviser on vaccines to change its advice against adults under age 60 taking the AstraZeneca shot.

More than half the nation is locked down because of growing Covid-19 clusters. The country's two largest states, New South Wales and Victoria, reported sharp increases in new cases on Wednesday.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization last month raised the minimum recommended age for taking AstraZeneca from 50 to 60 because of the greater risk of rare blood clots associated with the vaccine in younger people.

The change followed the death in Australia of a 52-year-old. PM Scott Morrison said he was appealing to ATAGI to change its age advice due to the escalating risk from the more contagious delta variant. The only alternative to AstraZeneca in Australia is Pfizer which is in short supply.

Covid pass for Eiffel Tower

Visitors need a special Covid pass to ride up the Eiffel Tower or visit French museums or movie theaters from Wednesday, the first step in a new campaign against what the government calls a "stratospheric" rise in delta variant infections.

To get the pass, people must show they are either fully vaccinated, have a negative virus test or proof they recently recovered from an infection. President Emmanuel Macron wants to mandate the pass for restaurants and other areas of public life.

4,11,494
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

19,16,16,541
Total no. of cases worldwide

41,21,477
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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