Ireland's vaccination programme has been rocked by more complications as the State’s advisory body on vaccines has said the AstraZeneca jab should only be given to people aged over 60.
Thousands of people who were due to get the shot on Tuesday and later this week now face having their appointments cancelled.
Health officials said they expect that 180,000 more people will receive vaccination against Covid-19 this week.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) made the recommendation after Europe’s health watchdog the EMA last week found a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clotting issues in adults, particularly younger people.
In a statement, NIAC said that the benefits versus the risks of the AstraZeneca vaccine may vary by age and as alternative Covid-19 vaccines are available in Ireland, it has revised the recommendations for the use of the vaccine.
The decision which will likely be adapted by the government is set to have major implications for the roll-out here.
The EMA has added unusual clotting events with low platelet counts as very rare side effects to the vaccine product information.
These rare events are estimated to occur between four and 10 in every 1 million people, one of whom may die, according to NIAC.
Chair of NIAC Prof Karina Butler said: “NIAC realises the need to balance the significant benefits of a national vaccination programme with the very rare risk of these reported events.
“While this is an extremely rare condition, consideration must be given to the fact that it has a very high risk of death or severe outcome.
“All the authorised COVID-19 vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca and the newly approved Janssen – are highly effective in preventing hospitalisation and severe COVID-19 disease.
“We strongly encourage everyone to accept the COVID-19 vaccine they are offered.
“A high uptake of vaccine in every age group is needed if COVID-19 is to be controlled, so that public health restrictions may be safely removed.”
However, NIAC – which advises the Department of Health – now faces questioning over the abrupt decision given that those aged under 60 who are medically vulnerable and at a greater risk of contracting Covid-19 have been receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine up to Monday.
Recipients of the AstraZeneca jab have now been advised that if aged over 60, they should still receive the second dose 12 weeks later as scheduled.
Those aged under 60 years with a very high risk or high-risk medical condition should also receive their second dose 12 weeks later as scheduled.
However, NIAC now say that people aged under 60 years without a high-risk medical condition should have the scheduled interval between doses extended to 16 weeks to allow further assessment of the benefits and risks as more evidence becomes available.
NIAC also said that a second dose of the jab should not be given to anyone who developed unusual blood clots with low platelets after the first dose.
Already 233,700 people in Ireland have received the AstraZeneca vaccine and 813,000 jabs are due into the country between now and the end of June.
The breakdown for AstraZeneca jabs due is 224,000 for April, 262,000 for May and 327,000 in June.
AstraZeneca makes up the second biggest delivery of doses into the country in quarter two behind Pfizer which is expected to deliver more than 2.1 million doses.
The decision will further complicate the roll-out at mass vaccination centres and GP practices across the country as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines – which require tricky freezing storage – will need to be used for people aged under 60.
The move by NIAC comes after several EU countries have already restricted the vaccine to older age groups including Spain, France and Italy.
The UK has limited the use of the vaccine to those aged over 30 years, while France has limited the vaccine to over 55s.
Labour leader Alan Kelly said the decision to only use AstraZeneca for those aged over 60s “raises serious questions for our vaccination programme”.
He said: “It raises immediate concerns for the hundreds of thousands of people who have already received the first dose of this vaccine if they are aged under 60.
“Anyone under 60 who has got this vaccine will be very worried and needs reassurance.
“The government needs to take control and ensure people have their concerns quickly addressed.”
Mr Kelly said “reassurance” is needed from the government that the target of vaccinating over 80% of the population with at least one dose of a vaccine will happen by the end of June.
However, Minister Donnelly appeared hesitant in reiterating this commitment on Monday during an interview with RTÉ.
Mr Kelly also said this new advice also “into question” the role of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a regulator as they are “now being undercut by national regulators”.
He said: “We are seeing a range of contradictory advice for this vaccine now.
“For example, in Northern Ireland this vaccine is being given to over 30s, while now in the Republic it will be over 60s.
“The Minister for Health needs to be able to quickly reassure the public about this latest development.”
