Australian medical bodies reject changing AstraZeneca vaccine advice

Australian doctors have pushed back against the government's move to make the AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccine available to all willing adults.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday night announced that all Australian adults could volunteer to receive the AZ vaccine from their general practitioner.

The AstraZeneca vaccine was only recommended for Australians over 60 on the advice of the Australian Technical Advisery Group on Immunisations (ATAGI) after it was linked to a rare blood clotting disorder.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) said it was given "no warning" of the announcement while the Australian Medical Association (AMA) said it could not endorse the move.

"It took us by surprise, and it's hard to know how to take that announcement because I think it's going to be a limited number of people to take it up, given that they would be going against the expert ATAGI recommendation," AMA president Omar Khorshid was quoted by the Guardian.

"Our recommendation is still really for patients to follow the ATAGI advice. Be patient and have the ATAGI-recommended vaccine when it's available. I am certainly still backing the expert advice at this stage."

The announcement followed an emergency meeting of the national Cabinet, which consists of the prime minister and state and territory leaders, that was convened to address nationwide outbreaks of the Delta strain of COVID-19.

Khorshid said the decision was likely made to ease the concerns of millions of Australians thrust back into lockdown.

"My guess is that they are wanting to provide nervous Australians who are going into lockdown this week with something that they can actually do to improve their chances of getting through this and to push the nation's vaccination program forward," he said.

"If Delta really does ingrain itself in our community and the lockdowns aren't successful or they're too slow, then speeding up the vaccination program by using more options on the table is wise."