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Australia halts AstraZeneca vaccine for most people under 50

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has become the latest country to restrict use of the AstraZeneca vaccine by recommending that it not be given to people under age 50.

The announcement came after drug regulators held a series of urgent meetings earlier in the day.

The recommendation came after the European Medicines Agency said it had found a “possible link” between the shot and the rare blood clots, though regulators in the United Kingdom and the European Union emphasized that the benefits of receiving the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks for most people.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he’d received a series of recommendations and chief among them was that the Pfizer vaccine should now be adopted as the preferred vaccine for people aged under 50.