CONCERNS have been expressed about the safety of a Covid-19 vaccine, after the UK’s regulator advised against its use.

This week the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which approves or denies the use of medical products in the UK, advised against the use of Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine in the Under 30s.

The decision was made due to new evidence about the potential for blood clots, namely cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, occurring together with low levels of platelets.

The call is based on a weighing of the pros and cons, due to the lowered risk of serious illness due to Coronavirus in younger people, the potential of being effected by blood clots outweighs the benefits in under thirties.

The Government’s stance is that the vaccination rollout remains of utmost importance to the elderly and vulnerable.

Public Health England’s findings indicate that the Covid-19 vaccination programme prevented 6,100 deaths in those aged 70 and older in England up to the end of February.

A Government spokesman said: “The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, effective and has already saved thousands of lives.

“As the MHRA – the UK’s independent regulator – and the JCVI have said, the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks for the vast majority of adults.

“Everybody who has already had a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine should receive a second dose of the same brand, irrespective of age, except for the very small number of people who experienced blood clots with low platelet counts from their first vaccination.

“The government will follow today’s updated advice, which sets out that, as a precaution, it is preferable for people under the age of 30 with no underlying health conditions to be offered an alternative vaccine where possible once they are eligible.

“When people are called forward, they should get their jab. Vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic and provide strong protection against Covid-19.

“We are very grateful for the work of our world-leading regulator and our expert advisors as they continue to address this issue.

“More than 37 million jabs overall have already been administered, and we are on track to offer jabs to all over 50s by 15 April and all adults by the end of July.”

Reacting to the news, Carlisle-based health academic Doctor John Campbell said: “You can only go by the data at the time and the data at the end of the phase three clinical trial implied safety and efficacy.

“Now new evidence appears to be emerging and we have to move with the new evidence.

“For the vast majority of age groups, adverse reactions from the vaccine are less than the risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid-19. That seems to be the basis of the MHRA decision.

Dr Campbell said: “To me the best advice on any one day is the advice supplied by the regulatory authority.

“For some individuals, it’s probably safer to have the vaccine. It’s all about a balance of risk, that’s the approach they’re taking.”

Political figures such as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock have said that the AstraZeneca vaccine is “breaking the link between cases and deaths.

“What we’ve learned in the past 24 hours is that the roll out of the vaccine is working, we’ve seen that the safety system is working because the regulators can spot this extremely rare event, four in a million, and take necessary action to ensure the roll out is as safe as it can be.”

The health secretary’s message is “When you get the call, get the jab.”

But Dr Campbell said: “I think we have to go with the regulatory authority, it has the full data. It has the data that’s not available to us in the public domain. For me personally, I would go with the information the regulator is providing, that’s why we have the regulatory authority.”

However, on balance, he added that there are potential side effects to taking any medication at all, including Aspirin and Paracetamol.

Meanwhile, Cumbria’s vaccination programme rolls on and the easement of Coronavirus lockdown restrictions is going on as planned.

Colin Cox, director of public health, said: “The number of new cases remains low and that is excellent. Restrictions will ease a little more from Monday and I’d just ask people to remember to follow the social contact rules to help drive infections down even further.

“The announcements about the AstraZeneca vaccine this week may be causing some people concern, but I’d want to reassure people that the vaccine remains very safe and effective and that this is actually our medicines regulation system doing its job."

Mr Cox added: “Even for younger people the balance of risk is still strongly in favour of vaccination and because we have multiple different vaccines have the flexibility to tweak the programme as issues arise. If I am offered the AstraZeneca vaccine, I will certainly accept it."

The weekly Covid-19 situation report for our county shows that there were 81 new cases of the infection in Cumbria. The county’s infection rate remains below the national average.

Although there is fluctuation in the figures based on district. For the seventh week in a row, the borough of Allerdale had the greatest number of new cases in the county, 26.

Cumbria County Council’s situation report also reveals that rates in all districts were below both the national average and regional average rates.

Eden produced just four new cases of Coronavirus in the past seven days according to the Government’s official figures, Carlisle recorded 12 within the same time period. The 50-59 age group accounted for the greatest number of new cases in Cumbria, followed by the 30-39, 12-18 and 40-49 age groups.

The number of patients in hospital as well as new admissions to hospital decreased in the county.

Meanwhile, vaccination data up to the week ending April 1 shows that almost two thirds of those eligible in Cumbria have had their first dose.

Cumbria County Council said that recent headlines about the AstraZeneca vaccine are not expected to impact the roll out moving forward. Further easements to lockdown will take place on April 12 as non-essential retail is set to reopen.

Hospitality will be permitted to reopen but only on an outdoor basis. March 29 brought some relaxation to social contact restrictions, bringing a return of the Rule of Six but only outdoors.